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THE  HOWELLS  STORY  BOOK.  Edited  by  Mary  E.  Burt 
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trated. 

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ODYSSEUS,  THE  HERO  OF  ITHACA.  By  Mary  E.  Burt.  A 
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HERAKLES,  THE  HERO  OF  THEBES.  By  Mary  E.  Burt. 
A  Translation  of  the  Story  of  Herakles  and  other  Greek 
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AIiNOai^t  SCHOOL, 


HERAKLES    SLAYING    A    CENTAUR. 
(Giovanni   Bologna.) 


HERAKLES 

THE   HERO   OF  THEBES 

AND  OTHER  HEROES  OF  THE  MYTH 

ADAPTED  FROM  THE  SECOND  BOOK  OF  THE  PRIMARY  SCHOOLS  OF 
ATHENS,  GREECE 


MARY  E.   BURT 

Author  of  "Literary  Landmarks,"    "  Stories  front  Plato,"    "Story  of  tht 

German  Iliaii,"  "  The  Child-Life  Reading  Study  ";  Editor  of  "  The 

Cable  Story  Book,"    "  The  Eugene  Field  Book  " ;    Teacher 

in  the  John  A.  Browning  School,  New  York  City 

AND 

ZENA1DE  A.   RAGOZIN 

Author  of  "  The  Story  of  Chaldea,"  "  The  Story  of  Assyria"  Etc.; 

Member  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Great  Britain  and 

Ireland,  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  of  the 

Societt  Ethnologique  of  Paris,  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1900 


igoo,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


So 

SEVEN 

LITTLE   GENTLEMEN 

WILLIE  MACY 

REGGIE  CHARLES 

LOUIS  OLIVER 

GRISVVOLD 


w>  A  A  i  A}  i<'0jti 


PREFACE 


THE  child's  heart  goes  out  to  the  man  of  ac- 
tion, the  man  who  makes  short  work  of  things 
and  gets  directly  at  a  result.  He  responds  to 
life,  to  energy,  quick  wit,  the  blow  that  hits  the 
nail  on  the  head  at  the  first  stroke. 

The  rapidity  of  action  in  the  stories  of  Hera- 
kles,  Jason,  and  other  Heroes  of  the  Myth,  the 

^       prowess  and  courage  and  untiring  endurance 

of  the  men,  render  the  characters  worthy  sub- 

r^   jects  of   thought   to    young    minds,  and    have 

secured  the  stories  a  permanent  place  in  edu- 

£  cational  literature.  It  is  not  elegant  litera- 
ture alone  that  boys  need,  but  inspiring  ideals 

v)  which  will  impel  them  to  stand  fearlessly  to 
their  guns,  to  do  the  hard  thing  with  untiring 
perseverance,  to  reach  the  result  with  unerring 
insight. 

It  is  exactly  this  unbending  courage  in  Her- 
akles  and  his  comrade  heroes,  that  has  made 
them  the  backbone  of  literature  for  ages, 


vi  Preface 

holding  their  own   in    spite  of  the  sapless  lit- 
erary fungus  crowding  our  book-shelves. 

While  travelling  in  Greece  I  found  the  chil- 
dren of  the  primary  schools  reading  these 
stories  in  the  lower  grades,  the  book  being  the 
one  used  next  above  the  primer.  The  interest 
was  enthusiastic,  and  I  brought  home  a  copy 
of  the  book,  which,  with  Madame  Ragozin's 
collaboration,  I  have  arranged  as  a  first  or 
second  book  of  reading  for  our  own  schools. 

MARY  E.  BURT. 

THE  JOHN  A.  BROWNING  SCHOOL, 
NEW  YORK,  March  15,  1900. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION xiii 

CHAPTER 

I.  The  Babe  Herakles i 

II.  Herakles  is  Doomed  to  Serve  Eurystheus      4 

III.  The  First  Labor — The  Nemean  Lion       .      6 

IV.  The  Second  Labor— Herakles  Kills  the 

Water-Snake  of  Lake  Lerna         .        .       9 

V.  The   Third  Labor— The  Golden-Horned 

Hind 12 

VI.  The  Fourth   Labor  — The  Erymanthian 

Boar 15 

VII.  The  Fifth  Labor— Herakles  Cleans  the 

Augeian  Stables 19 

VIII.  The  Sixth  Labor— The  Birds  of  Styra- 

phalos 22 

IX.  The   Seventh   Labor — Herakles  Catches 

the  Mad  Bull  of  Crete          .         .        .     24 
vii 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

X.  The  Eighth  Labor —  The  Horses  of 

Diomedes 25 

XI.  The    Ninth    Labor  — The    Girdle    of 

Hippolyte 27 

XII.  The    Tenth    Labor  — The    Cattle    of 

Geryon 30 

XIII.  The   Eleventh   Labor  —  The   Golden 

Apples  of  Hesperides        .        .        .35 

XIV.  The  Twelfth  Labor— Herakles  Fetches 

Cerberus  Out  of  Hades    .        .        .40 

XV.  Theseus,  the  Hero  of  Athens       .        .     43 

XVI.  The  First  Exploits  of  Theseus.     He 

Finds  His  Father     .         .         .         .47 

XVII.  The  Adventures  of  Theseus         .        .51 

XVIII.  The  Adventures  of  Theseus         .        .  56 

XIX.  Jason,  the  Hero  of  Thessaly        .        .  60 

XX.  Jason  Claims  His  Throne     ...  63 

XXI.  The  Expedition 69 

XXII.  Jason  Finds  the  Golden  Fleece    .         .  74 

XXIII.  Orpheus,  the  Hero  of  the  Lyre    .        .  78 

XXIV.  Pelops,  the  Hero  of  the  Peloponnesos  .  83 


Contents 


PAGE 


XXV.  Perseus,  the  Hero  of  Argos      .  .87 

XXVI.  Perseus  Finds  the  Gorgons       .  .     92 

XXVII.  Perseus  Rescues  Andromeda   .  .     95 

XXVIII.   Perseus  Becomes  King  of  Tiryns  .   100 

XXIX  Triptolemos,  the   Hero   of   Eleusis, 

and  Demeter,  the  Earth-Mother  .  103 

XXX.  Demeter's  Grief        .        .        .        .106 
XXXI.  Demeter's  Joy 1 1 1 

XXXII.  Triptolemos  Becomes  a  Hero.     De- 
meter's  Gift          .         .         .         .116 

XXXIII.  Prometheus,  the  Champion  of  Man- 

kind        118 

XXXIV.  Prometheus  Unbound        .         .         .122 

XXXV.  Deukalion,  the  Champion  of  a  New 

Race 126 

XXXVI.  Daedalos,  a  Hero  of  Invention          .   132 

XXXVII.  Phaethon,  a  Hero  of  Bad  Fortune    .   136 

XXXVIII.  The  Death  of  Phaethon  .  .  141 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

HERAKLES  SLAYING  A  CENTAUR        .         .  Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

THE  PRIESTESS  OF  APOLLO  AT  DELPHI     .         .         6 

THE  TEMPLE  TO  THESEUS  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE 

ACROPOLIS  IN  ATHENS        ....       60 

ORPHEUS  LEADING  EURYDIKE  OUT  OF  HADES  .       80 
THE  RETURN  OF  PERSEPHONE  .         .         .         .114 

D/EDALOS    AND    IlvAROS          .  .  .  .  -134 


AL  SCHOOL, 


INTRODUCTION 

THE   LAND   OF  THE   HEROES 

9*17 

ONE  look  at  the  map  of  Greece  will  show  us 
that  it  is  the  smallest  of  European  countries. 
For  many  hundreds  of  years  it  was  inhabited 
by  the  handsomest,  bravest,  and  most  intelli- 
gent people  in  the  world.  But  these  people, 
the  Greeks,  or  Hellenes,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, had  not  always  lived  in  the  country. 

Thousands  of  years  before  the  Hellenes  came 
to  Greece  it  was  a  perfect  wilderness  of  moun- 
tains, narrow  valleys,  torrents,  and  tangled  for- 
ests. It  was  a  land  of  wild  beasts,  and  they 
were  so  numerous  and  fierce  that  there  was 
almost  no  room  for  men. 

Yet  men  did  live  there,  but  we  know  nothing 
about  them  or  what  they  were  like,  except  that 
they  hid  in  caves  and  had  hardly  got  beyond 
the  art  of  making  fire,  trapping  and  killing  the 
less  dangerous  animals  with  sticks  or  little  ar- 
rows pointed  with  stones,  and  using  their  meat 
for  food  and  hides  for  clothing. 

xi 


xii  Introduction 

Then  the  new  people,  the  Greeks,  began  to 
come  into  the  country.^  They  came  in  boats 
from  across  tHe  sea  and'on  fb5t  from  the  north, 
through  numberless  mountain-passes.  They 
did  not  come  all  at  once,  but  in  small  detach- 
ments, in  single  tribes,  so  that  it  took  them 
many  years  to  spread  over  the  country. 

The  new  race  was  »oWeV  than  the  old,  more 
advanced  in  knowledge  and  in  the  arts  of  civil- 
ized life.  It  was  not  a  race  to  be  content  with 
caves  and  forest-dens,  but  each  tribe,  after  it 
had  chosen  a  district  and  taken  possession  of 
it,  selected  some  high  hill,  built  rude  dwellings 
upon  it  and  temples  to  its  patron  gods,  a  public 
treasure-house  also,  and  enclosed  the  hill  with 
strong  walls.  It  had  become  a  fortress,  and 
was  called  Acropolis,  in  their  language. 

Each  tribe,  of  course,  had  its  leaders,  usually 
belonging  to  some  family  which  had  earned  the 
gratitude  and  loyalty  of  the  people  by  brave 
and  affectionate  service,  and  the  leadership  de- 
scended from  father  to  son.  These  were  the 
kings  and  they  resided  within  the  Acropolis. 

Around  it  and  under  the  protection  of  its 
walls  the  people  built  their  own  huts  and  began 
to  clear  the  land.  They  sowed  various  crops, 
planted  the  vine  and  the  olive,  and  raised  herds 
of  sheep  and  goats.  There  was  room  enough 


Introduction  xiii 

within  the  walls  for  all  the  families,  with  their 
herds,  to  find  shelter  in  the  Acropolis  in  times 
of  danger,  from  the  attacks  of  the  wild  natives 
or  of  the  still  wilder  beasts  of  the  forests  and 
fields. 

Now  these  latter  were  by  far  the  most  dan- 
gerous enemies  of  the  new  settlers,  who  soon 
found  that  they  could  venture  but  a  few  miles 
from  their  small  home-farms  without  encoun- 
tering huge  and  ferocious  animals  which  the 
increased  herds  attracted  and  which  their  mis- 
erable weapons  were  utterly  insufficient  to  slay 
or  even  put  to  flight. 

Each  small  district  had  its  particular  terror, 
just  as  many  districts  of  India  now  have  a  man- 
eating  tiger,  which  makes  miles  and  miles  of 
country  around  unsafe  for  man  or  beast. 

It  became  a  question  which  of  the  two,  the 
men  or  the  wild  animals,  would  remain  in  pos- 
session. Then  young  and  courageous  men, 
sons  of  the  ruling  families,  athletes  in  strength, 
practised  in  the  arts  of  war,  commanding 
through  their  greater  wealth  the  use  of  better 
weapons,  felt  it  their  duty  to  their  people  to  do 
for  them  what  the  poor  herdsmen  and  laborers 
had  neither  the  strength  nor  the  skill  to  do  for 
themselves. 

From  all  the  central  royal  cities  they  started 


xiv  Introduction 

singly  or  in  small  troops,  a  bevy  of  young 
heroes,  as  eager  for  the  delights  of  adventure 
as  for  the  public  good.  Year  after  year  they 
wandered  across  country  seeking  the  most  im- 
passable wildernesses,  directed  by  the  stories 
they  heard  on  their  way  to  the  dens  of  the 
cruel  monsters,  which  they  usually  overcame 
by  force  or  cunning. 

Then  they  would  return  to  their  homes  tri- 
umphant, bearing  the  proof  of  their  incredible 
prowess,  the  hides,  or  horns,  or  heads  of  the 
monsters  they  had  slain.  Thus  they  put  new 
heart  into  their  people.  Their  trophies  seemed 
to  say :  "  You  see  these  creatures  were  not  so 
terrible  as  they  might  have  been;  what  we 
have  done  others  can  do."  So  they  did  a 
double  good — one  immediate  by  the  destruction 
of  the  dreaded  foes  and  by  the  opening  of  the 
land  to  the  planters  and  the  tillers ;  the  other 
even  more  far-reaching  and  more  beneficent 
in  its  results  by  raising  men's  spirits,  inspiring 
them  with  confidence  and  with  the  ambition  to 
show  that  they  were  not  mere  helpless  boors, 
cowed  and  dependent  on  their  betters. 

The  Greek  nation  in  years  to  come  proved 
itself  a  nation  of  heroes  and  was  so  called  by 
fame.  But  who  can  tell  how  much  these  heroes 
were  indebted  for  this  honorable  distinction 


Introduction  xv 

which  has  remained  by  them  to  this  day,  to  the 
early  vigorous  education  which  those  doughty 
champions  of  old  imparted  to  them,  not  by 
preaching  or  advice,  but  by  their  own  dauntless 
example. 

Can  we  wonder  if  their  people's  passionate 
gratitude  and  unselfish  admiration  survived 
those  glorious  men  through  ages?  Can  we 
wonder  if  after  centuries  had  come  and  gone 
the  memory  of  their  deeds  and  persons  ap- 
peared to  later  generations  through  a  halo  of 
wonder  and  awe  ? 

Deeds  of  a  remote  past  always  assume  gigan- 
tic proportions.  "  Surely,"  men  would  say, 
"  surely,  those  heroes  were  more  than  ordinary 
mortals!  They  had  more  than  human  strength, 
endurance,  wisdom.  Neither  iron  fang  nor 
claw  of  steel  could  harm  them.  They  died,  in- 
deed, but  of  their  nature  they  must  have  been 
half  divine  ;  their  mothers  were  human,  but 
surely  the  gods  themselves  were  their  fathers." 

And  thus  it  was  settled,  and  for  many,  many 
hundreds  of  years  the  Greeks  continued  to 
honor  their  ancient  heroes  as  half-divine  men, 
or  demi-gods,  and  to  erect  altars  to  them  and 
come  to  them  with  prayers  and  offerings.  The 
Greek  had  to  grow  in  mind  and  soul  high 
enough  to  grasp  the  truth  that  there  can  be 


xvi  Introduction 

only  one  God,  and  that  no  man,  high  as  he  ma 
tower  above  his  kind,  can  be  more  than  humai 

But  it  was  a  beautiful  and  ennobling  belie 
and  at  first  sight  it  seems  a  pity  that  it  wi 
ever  lost,  yet  in  reality  it  was  a  great  gain,  fc 
men  may  think  they  have  an  excuse  for  nc 
putting  forth  their  bravest  efforts  if  they  b< 
lieve  that  the  gods  only  can  achieve  deeds  < 
courage.  There  is  no  reason  why  men  ma 
not  aspire  to  any  height  of  bravery  which  hz 
been  gained  by  other  men. 

The  undying  energy  embodied  in  the  cha 
acters  of  these  old  heroes  is  the  inheritance  < 
every  child.  The  children  of  America  are  nc 
born  the  sons  of  ruling  houses.  But  they  ai 
destined  to  be  the  guardians  and  rulers  of  the; 
native  land.  And  if  the  children  take  into  thei 
future  lives  the  heroism  they  first  realize  in  ai 
cient  story,  they  will  find  themselves,  when  th 
time  comes,  armed  with  the  same  courage,  er 
durance,  and  love  of  human  beings  which  hav 
made  the  heroes  of  all  lands  and  ages. 


HERAKLES 

AND   OTHER   HEROES   OF   THE   MYTH 
CHAPTER   I 

THE  BABE    HERAKLES 

FAR  away  in  the  land  of  Argos  there  once 
lived  a  beautiful  maiden,  the  daughter  of  a 
brave  king.  She  was  tall  and  fair  and  her 
name  was  Alkmene.  Her  father  was  rich  in 
the  possession  of  many  oxen. 

Her  husband  also  owned  great  herds  of 
oxen.  He  had  so  many  that  he  could  not  tell 
them  from  those  of  the  king.  So  he  quarrelled 
with  the  king  and  slew  him.  Then  he  took 
Alkmene  and  fled  from  his  native  land.  They 
came  to  Thebes  and  made  it  their  home. 

Here  Herakles  was  born,  the  babe  who  was 
stronger  than  the  strongest  of  men.  The  god- 
dess, Hera,  hated  Herakles.  She  was  the  wife 
of  Zeus,  the  Lord  of  Thunder  and  King  of 
Heaven.  Hera  was  angry  because  Zeus  loved 
him,  and  she  was  jealous  because  Zeus  had 


2  Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

foretold  that  Herakles  would  become  the 
greatest  of  men.  More  than  that  Zeus  had 
deceived  Hera  and  sent  the  infant  Herakles  to 
her  to  be  nursed  that  he  might  be  made  strong 
and  godlike  by  tasting  divine  milk. 

So  Hera  sent  two  large  snakes  to  devour  the 
babe  when  she  found  out  what  child  it  was 
that  she  had  fed.  Herakles  lay  asleep  in  the 
great  brazen  shield  which  his  father  carried  in 
battle,  for  he  had  no  other  cradle.  The  fear- 
ful serpents  crept  up  with  open  mouths  into 
the  shield  with  the  sleeping  babe. 

As  soon  as  Alkmene  saw  them  she  was  ter- 
ribly frightened  and  called  in  a  loud  voice  for 
help.  His  father,  hearing  the  outcry  of  Alk- 
mene, ran  into  the  house  with  his  sword  drawn 
and  a  great  many  warriors  came  with  weapons 
in  their  hands. 

/^Herakles  was  only  eight  months  old,  but  be- 
fore his  father  could  reach  him  he  sat  up  in  his 
bed  and  seized  the  serpents  by  their  necks 
with  his  little  hands.  He  squeezed  and  choked 
them  with  such  force  that  they  diedTJ 

When  Alkmene  saw  that  theTwo  snakes 
were  dead  and  that  Herakles  was  safe,  she  re- 
joiced greatly.  But  Hera's  heart  was  filled 
with  wrath  and  she  began  to  plan  more  mis- 
chief against  the  child. 


The  Babe  Herakles  3 

Herakles  had  his  free  will  as  long  as  he  was 
a  boy.  His  teachers  were  celebrated  heroes 
who  taught  him  boxing,  wrestling,  riding,  and 
all  kinds  of  games.  He  learned  to  read  and 
write  and  to  hurl  the  spear  and  shoot  with 
bows  and  arrows.  Linos  taught  him  music. 

Herakles  had  a  violent  temper,  and  one  day 
as  Linos  was  teaching  him  to  play  the  lute, 
the  good  teacher  had  reason  to  punish  him. 
Herakles  flew  into  a  rage  at  this  and  struck 
Linos  and  killed  him.  Then  his  father  sent 
him  to  the  hills  and  left  him  to  the  care  of 
herdsmen. 

The  boy  grew  to  be  very  large  and  strong. 
While  he  was  yet  a  youth  he  slew  a  lion  of 
great  size  that  had  killed  many  of  his  father's 
cattle.  He  went  home  wearing  the  lion's 
skin  as  a  sign  of  his  victory. 
^Because  he  was  so  brave  the  King  of 
Thebes  gave  his  daughter  to  him  in  marriage 
and  he  lived  happily  with  her  for  many  years. 
But  a  sudden  insanity  came  upon  him  during 
which  he  mistook  his  wife  and  children  for 
wild  beasts  and  shot  them  down  with  his  bow 
and  arrows.  When  Herakles  recovered  from 
his  insanity  and  saw  what  he  had  done  his 
grief  was  boundless. 


4  Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

CHAPTER   II 

HERAKLES  IS  DOOMED   TO   SERVE    EURYSTHEUS 

THE  wrath  of  Hera  followed  Herakles. 
When  Zeus  saw  that  Hera's  heart  was  filled 
with  anger  toward  Herakles,  he  mused  within 
his  own  mind  how  he  might  best  appease  her 
resentment  and  protect  the  young  man. 

So  he  called  the  gods  together  in  council  and 
they  advised  that  Herakles  be  placed  in  bond- 
age to  his  uncle  Eurystheus,  to  serve  him  as  a 
slave,  and  they  ordained  that  he  should  per- 
form twelve  hard  tasks,  after  which  he  would 
be  numbered  among  the  gods. 

Eurystheus  was  a  mean  fellow,  stupid  and 
cowardly.  He  was  glad  enough  to  have  a 
chance  to  bully  a  man  wiser  and  stronger  than 
himself.  He  was  born  in  Tiryns,  a  great  for- 
tress with  many  castles,  built  upon  a  large  rock, 
but  he  had  been  made  King  of  Argos  and  lived 
in  the  capital,  Mykense,  and  he  resolved  to  keep 
Herakles  as  far  away  from  the  kingdom  as  pos- 
sible, for  in  his  heart  he  was  afraid  of  him. 

Herakles  was  grieved  at  being  compelled  to 
serve  a  man  so  much  below  him  in  strength 
and  character,  so  he  consulted  the  oracle  at 


Herakles  to  Serve  Eurystheus          5 

Delphi  to  see  if  there  was  any  escape,  but  he 
did  not  murmur,  for  he  was  willing  to  obey  the 
law  of  the  gods. 

The  oracle  of  Delphi  was  a  mysterious  influ- 
ence, a  divine  spirit  which  expressed  itself 
through  a  priestess  living  in  a  sacred  temple. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  the  voice  of  the  god 
Apollo  using  this  human  agency  for  making 
known  his  will  to  men.  The  priestess  became 
inspired  to  utter  Apollo's  holy  laws  by  sitting 
on  a  golden  tripod  (or  stool  with  three  legs) 
over  a  chasm  in  the  rock,  from  whence  arose  a 
sacred,  sulphurous  vapor  which  she  breathed 
in  as  the  breath  of  the  god,  and  which  caused 
her  to  breathe  out  his  commands  in  wonderful 
sayings. 

The  chasm  from  which  the  vapor  issued  was 
called  The  Chasm  of  the  Oracle,  and  was  in  a 
large  apartment  or  room  in  the  temple.  This 
celebrated  temple  had  many  columns  of  marble 
and  splendid  rooms  made  beautiful  with  thou- 
sands of  marble  statues.  It  stood  on  the  side 
of  Mount  Parnassos,  whose  snow-covered  head 
reaches  into  the  clouds  and  looks  down  into 
the  blue  Gulf  of  Corinth  below  it  to  the 
south. 

It  was  here  that  Apollo  killed  the  great 
dragon,  Pytho,  which  had  been  the  scourge  of 


6  Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

the  land  for  many  years,  and  the  grateful  peo- 
ple built  the  temple  in  his  honor.  The  oracle 
bade  Herakles  go  forth  to  be  the  slave  of  Eurys- 
theus  and  so  atone  for  all  his  sins,  but  it  gave 
him  as  a  compensation  a  dear  friend,  lolaos, 
who  was  also  his  young  nephew.  Wherever 
Herakles  went  lolaos  went  with  him  and 
helped  him. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  FIRST  LABOR— THE  NEMEAN  LION 

IT  happened  that  a  fearful  lion  lived  in  Ne- 
mea,  a  wild  district  in  upper  Argolis,  and  it 
devastated  all  the  land  and  was  the  terror  of 
the  inhabitants.  Eurystheus  ordered  Herakles 
to  bring  him  the  skin  of  this  lion.  So  Herakles 
took  his  bow,  his  quiver,  and  heavy  club  and 
started  out  in  search  of  the  beast. 

When  he  had  reached  a  little  town  which  is 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Nemea  he  was  kindly 
received  by  a  good  countryman,  who  promised 
to  put  him  on  the  track  of  the  lion  if  he  would 
sacrifice  the  animal  to  Zeus. 

Herakles  promised,  and  the  countryman  went 
with  him  to  show  him  the  way.  When  they 
reached  the  place  where  traces  of  the  lion  were 


THE    PRIESTESS   OF    APOLLO    AT    DELPHI. 
(Michael  Angelo.) 


The  Nemean  Lion  7 

seen,  Herakles  said  to  his  guide :  "  Remain 
here  thirty  days.  If  I  return  safely  from  the 
lion-hunt  you  must  sacrifice  a  sheep  to  Zeus, 
for  he  is  the  god  who  will  have  saved  me.  But 
if  I  am  slain  by  the  lion  you  must  sacrifice  the 
sheep  to  me,  for  after  my  death  I  shall  be  hon- 
ored as  a  hero."  Having  said  this,  Herakles 
went  his  way. 

He  reached  the  wilderness  of  Nemea,  where 
he  spent  several  days  in  looking  for  the  lion, 
but  without  success.  Not  a  trace  of  him  could 
be  found,  nor  did  he  fall  in  with  any  human 
being,  for  there  was  no  one  bold  enough  to 
wander  around  in  that  wilderness.  Finally  he 
spied  the  lion  as  he  was  about  to  crawl  into 
his  den. 

The  lion  was  indeed  worthy  of  his  terrible 
fame.  His  size  was  prodigious,  his  eyes  shot 
forth  flames  of  fire,  and  his  tongue  licked  his 
bloody  chops.  When  he  roared,  the  whole  des- 
ert resounded. 

But  Herakles  stood  fearlessly  near  a  grove 
from  whence  he  might  approach  the  lion,  and 
suddenly  shot  at  him  with  his  bow  and  arrow, 
hitting  him  squarely  in  the  breast.  The  arrow 
glanced  aside,  and  slipping  around  the  lion's 
neck,  fell  on  a  rock  behind  him.  When  Hera- 
kles saw  this  he  knew  that  the  lion  was  proof 


8  Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

against  arrows  and  must  be  killed  in  some  other 
way,  and  seizing  his  club,  he  gave  chase  to  him. 

The  lion  made  for  a  cave  which  had  two 
mouths.  Herakles  closed  up  one  of  the  en- 
trances with  heavy  rocks  and  entered  the  other. 
He  seized  the  lion  by  the  throat  and  then  came 
a  terrible  struggle,  but  Herakles  squeezed  him 
in  his  mighty  arms  until  he  gasped  for  breath, 
and  at  last  lay  dead. 

Then  Herakles  took  up  the  huge  body  and, 
throwing  it  easily  over  his  shoulder,  returned 
to  the  place  where  he  had  left  the  countryman. 
It  was  on  the  last  of  the  thirty  appointed  days, 
and  the  rustic,  supposing  that  Herakles  had 
come  to  his  death  through  the  lion,  was  about 
to  offer  up  a  sheep  as  a  sacrifice  in  his  honor. 

He  rejoiced  greatly  when  he  saw  Herakles 
alive  and  victorious,  and  the  sheep  was  offered 
up  to  Zeus.  Herakles  left  the  little  town  and 
went  to  Mykenas  to  the  house  of  his  uncle  and 
showed  him  the  dead  body  of  the  terrible  lion. 
Eurystheus  was  so  greatly  frightened  at  the 
sight  that  he  hid  himself  within  a  tower  whose 
walls  were  built  of  solid  brass. 

And  he  ordered  Herakles  not  to  enter  the 
city  again,  but  to  stay  outside  of  its  gates  until 
he  had  performed  the  other  labors. 

Herakles  stripped  the  skin  from  the  lion  with 


Herakles  Kills  the   Water-snake        9 

his  fingers,  although  it  was  so  tough,  and  know- 
ing it  to  be  arrow-proof,  took  it  for  a  cloak  and 
wore  it  as  long  as  he  lived. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE     SECOND      LABOR — HERAKLES     KILLS     THE 
WATER-SNAKE  OF  LAKE  LERNA 

NOT  far  from  Mykenas  is  a  small  lake  called 
Lerna.  It  is  formed  from  a  large  spring  at  the 
foot  of  a  hill.  In  this  lake  there  lived  a  water- 
snake  called  the  Hydra.  It  was  a  snake  of  un- 
common size,  with  nine  heads.  Eight  of  the 
heads  were  mortal,  but  the  one  in  the  middle 
was  immortal. 

The  Hydra  frequently  came  out  of  the  water 
and  swallowed  up  herds  of  cattle,  laying  waste 
the  surrounding  country.  Eurystheus  ordered 
Herakles  to  kill  the  snake,  so  he  put  on  his 
lion's  skin,  and  taking  his  club,  started  out.  He 
mounted  his  chariot  and  took  his  faithful  friend 
lolaos,  who  acted  as  charioteer. 

Every  warrior  had  to  have  a  charioteer  to 
drive  the  horses,  leaving  him  free  to  use  both 
of  his  hands.  But  driving  was  by  no  means  the 
charioteer's  only  duty  ;  he  had  also  to  look  out 


io         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

for  danger  and  protect  the  warrior  with  his 
shield  as  well  as  to  supply  him  with  arrows 
from  the  quiver  suspended  at  the  side  of  every 
chariot,  and  with  reserve  spears  when  his  own 
was  broken  in  the  fray. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  warrior's  life 
was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  his  charioteer,  so  it 
is  no  wonder  that  only  the  hero's  dearest  and 
most  trusted  friends  were  allowed  to  serve  him 
in  this  way. 

After  driving  along  for  a  while  through 
groves  of  olive-trees  and  past  pleasant  vine- 
yards, they  came  to  wild  places  and  saw  Lake 
Lerna  gleaming  through  the  trees.  Having 
reached  the  lake,  Herakles  descended  from  the 
chariot,  left  the  horses  in  care  of  lolaos,  and 
went  to  hunt  for  the  snake. 

He  found  it  in  a  swampy  place  where  it  was 
hiding.  Herakles  shot  some  burning  arrows 
at  the  Hydra  and  forced  it  to  come  out.  It 
darted  furiously  at  him,  but  he  met  it  fearlessly, 
put  his  foot  upon  its  tail,  and  with  his  club  be- 
gan to  strike  off  its  heads.  He  could  not  ac- 
complish anything  in  this  way,  for  as  fast  as  he 
knocked  off  one  head  two  others  grew  in  its 
place. 

The  snake  coiled  itself  so  firmly  around  one 
of  Herakles'  legs  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to 


Hcrakles  Kills  the   Water-snake      n 

stir  from  the  place.  Added  to  all  this  there 
came  a  huge  crab  to  the  assistance  of  the  snake. 
It  crept  up  to  Herakles'  foot,  and  seizing  it 
with  its  sharp  claws,  inflicted  painful  wounds. 
Herakles  killed  the  crab  with  his  club  and 
called  lolaos  to  help  him. 

Under  Herakles'  directions  lolaos  produced 
a  fire-brand  which  he  applied  to  the  neck  as 
fast  as  Herakles  cut  off  one  of  the  snake's 
heads,  in  this  way  preventing  them  from  grow- 
ing again.  Finally  it  came  the  turn  of  the  head 
which  could  not  die.  Cutting  it  off  Herakles 
buried  it  in  the  ground,  placing  a  heavy  stone 
over  it. 

Then  he  dipped  some  arrows  into  the  Hy- 
dra's blood,  which  was  poisonous,  so  that  who- 
ever was  wounded  by  one  of  them  could  not 
be  healed.  The  least  scratch  inflicted  by  such 
an  arrow  was  incurable. 

Eurystheus,  of  course,  had  no  word  of  praise 
for  his  great  bondsman,  but  the  people,  know- 
ing that  the  place  was  now  safe,  flocked  to  the 
land  in  great  numbers  and  drained  the  lake, 
which  was  really  not  much  more  than  a  big 
marshy  pond,  and  in  their  new  homes  they 
blessed  the  hero's  name  forever.  That  was  the 
prize  for  which  Herakles  cared  the  most. 

If  you  should  go  to-day  to  that  old  battle- 


12          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

field  of  Herakles  you  would  still  find  the  spring 
flowing  from  the  rocks,  but  Lake  Lerna  exists 
only  in  story. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  THIRD  LABOR— THE  GOLDEN-HORNED  HIND 

THE  lower  part  of  Greece  is  a  most  peculiar- 
looking  bit  of  country.  You  would  think  it  had 
been  torn  off  from  the  bulk  of  the  land  but  kept 
hanging  on  to  it  by  a  small  narrow  strip.  Then, 
too,  its  shape  is  so  queer  that  it  has  been  com- 
pared to  all  sorts  of  things;  sometimes  to  a 
mulberry  leaf,  sometimes  to  an  open  hand. 

If  we  keep  to  the  latter  comparison,  we  will 
find  that  the  part  which  answers  to  the  palm  of 
the  hand  is  a  large  and  intricate  knot  of  high 
wooded  mountains  which  shoot  out  spurs  in  all 
directions.  These  spurs  with  the  land  attached 
to  them  stretch  out  into  the  sea  as  so  many 
small  peninsulas  and  not  badly  represent  the 
fingers  of  the  hand.  The  central  knot  of  moun- 
tains is  even  now  different  from  the  country  all 
around. 

The  people  there  are  wilder,  very  much  given 
to  robbery  and  violence  and  very  slow  to  accept 
new  ways  of  life  or  improvements  of  any  kind. 


The  Golden-horned  Hind  13 

In  the  old  heroic  times  of  several  thousand  years 
ago  that  country  was  simply  an  impassable  wil- 
derness. 

It  was  overcrowded  with  wild  beasts,  among 
which  the  bear  must  have  been  the  most  plenti- 
ful since  the  land  was  named  after  him,  Arcadia 
— the  land  of  Bears.  Wolves  were  known  also 
to  abound. 

The  men  who  had  their  villages  in  the  narrow 
valleys  by  the  mountain-streams  were  fierce  and 
lawless.  There  was  nothing  for  them  to  do  but 
to  keep  goats  and  hunt  all  day  long.  Arcadia 
was  truly  the  paradise  of  hunters  and  therefore 
held  as  specially  sacred  to  the  beautiful  huntress, 
the  goddess,  Artemis — the  Lady  of  the  Chase. 
She  roamed  over  hills  and  valleys  and  through 
woods  and  groves  by  moonlight  to  protect  the 
herds  and  flocks,  this  beautiful  daughter  of 
Zeus. 

In  these  same  mountains  of  Arcadia  there 
roamed  a  lovely  Hind  sacred  to  Queen  Artemis, 
who  gave  her  golden  horns  so  that  she  might 
be  known  from  other  deer  by  the  huntsmen. 
Thus  they  might  be  saved  from  the  crime  of 
staying  what  was  sacred  to  the  gods.  Eurys- 
theus  ordered  Herakles  to  bring  him  the  Hind 
alive,  for  he  did  not  dare  to  have  her  killed. 

Herakles  spent  a  whole  year  seeking  her  from 


14          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

the  mountain-tops  down  to  the  valleys,  through 
tangles  of  brush,  over  streams  and  in  forests, 
but  he  was  not  able  to  catch  her.  After  a  long 
chase  he  forced  her  at  last  to  take  refuge  on  the 
side  of  a  mountain  and  from  that  place  to  go 
down  to  a  river  to  drink. 

In  order  that  he  might  prevent  the  deer  from 
crossing  the  water,  Herakles  was  obliged  slight- 
ly to  wound  one  of  her  legs.  Not  till  then  was 
he  able  to  secure  his  game  and  carry  it  to 
Eurystheus. 

On  his  way  to  Mykenae  Herakles  was  met  by 
Artemis,  who  upbraided  him  for  having  cap- 
tured the  Hind  belonging  to  her.  Herakles  made 
answer :  "  Great  Goddess,  if  I  have  chased  and 
caught  thy  deer,  I  did  it  out  of  necessity,  not 
impiety ;  for  thou  well  knowest  that  the  gods 
ordered  me  to  be  a  servant  to  Eurystheus  and 
he  commanded  me  to  catch  the  Hind." 

With  these  words  he  soothed  the  anger  of  the 
goddess  and  brought  the  golden-horned  Hind 
to  Mykenae. 


The  Erymanthian  Boar  15 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FOURTH  LABOR — THE   ERYMANTHIAN  BOAR 

ELIS  is  a  beautiful  plain  lying  to  the  north 
and  west  of  Arcadia.  Here  once  in  five  years 
there  was  a  great  festival  in  honor  of  Zeus, 
when  all  the  men  and  boys  ran  races,  wrestled, 
boxed  and  played  all  sorts  of  games.  Between 
Arcadia  and  Elis  there  is  a  high  mountain- 
range,  called  Erymanthos.  There  a  terrible 
Boar  had  its  lair. 

The  Boar  frequently  left  its  den  and  came 
down  into  the  plains  and  killed  cattle,  de- 
stroyed fields  of  grain  and  attacked  people. 
Eurystheus,  having  heard  of  this  Boar,  made 
up  his  mind  that  he  wanted  the  beast  alive,  and 
so  ordered  Herakles  to  bring  it  to  him. 

The  hero  put  on  his  lion  skin  once  more  and 
started  for  the  mountain.  On  his  way  he 
stopped  at  a  little  town  where  the  Centaurs  had 
their  home.  These  strange  people  were  half 
man  and  half  horse.  We  have  heard  that  they 
were  really  men,  but  such  good  riders  that  they 
seemed  to  be  one  with  their  mountain  ponies. 

Their  home  was  just  on  the  edge  of  a  high 
plain,  covered  with  oak-trees  and  looking  down 


1 6         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

across  a  wild  valley,  through  which  flowed  the 
Erymanthos  River.  There  were  many  forests 
and  little  streams  and  dreadful  gorges  in  the 
valley,  where  these  horsemen  used  to  hunt 
and  fish. 

The  Centaur  Chief,  Pholos,  received  Hera- 
kles  as  a  guest  and  gave  him  cooked  meat  to 
eat,  while  he  ate  it  raw  himself,  after  the  Cen- 
taurs' custom. 

When  Herakles  had  eaten  his  fill,  he  said  to 
Pholos :  "  Thy  food  is  indeed  good  and  taste- 
ful. But  I  should  enjoy  it  still  more  if  I  could 
have  a  sip  of  wine,  for  I  am  very  thirsty."  To 
which  Pholos  replied :  "  My  dear  guest,  we 
have  very  fine  and  fragrant  wine  in  this  moun- 
tain, and  I  should  like  nothing  better  than  to 
give  thee  some  of  it.  But  I  am  afraid  to  do  so, 
because  it  has  a  strong  aroma,  and  the  other 
Centaurs,  if  they  smelt  it,  might  come  to  my 
cave  and  want  some.  They  are  very  fierce  and 
lawless,  and  might  do  thee  great  harm." 

"  Let  not  that  trouble  thee,"  said  Herakles. 
"  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  Centaurs."  So  the 
wine  was  placed  before  him  and  he  drank  of  it. 
In  a  little  while  a  great  noise  was  heard  out- 
side of  the  cave,  a  shouting  of  many  wild 
voices  and  a  stamping  of  many  horses'  feet. 
What  Pholos  feared  had  come  to  pass. 


The  Erymanthian  Boar  17 

The  Centaurs  had  smelt  the  fragrance  of  the 
wine  and  in  full  armor  had  made  for  the  cave 
of  Pholos.  Then  began  a  terrible  fight.  The 
Centaurs  fell  upon  Herakles  with  pine-branches, 
rocks,  axes,  and  fire-brands,  and  the  clouds, 
their  mothers,  poured  a  flood  of  water  on  him. 
But  Herakles  was  too  clever  for  them.  He  put 
two  to  flight,  prevented  others  from  entering 
the  cave,  and  shot  the  rest  down  with  his  ar- 
rows. 

Pholos  was  a  kind-hearted  chief,  and  hearing 
one  of  the  Centaurs  crying  for  help  outside  of 
his  cave,  went  out  to  him  and  tried  to  pull  the 
arrow  from  his  wound,  wondering  at  the  same 
time  that  so  slight  a  weapon  could  cause  his 
death.  But  the  arrow  slipped  out  of  his  hand 
and  struck  his  own  foot.  It  made  only  a 
scratch,  but  it  could  not  be  healed,  for  the 
arrow  was  one  of  those  which  Herakles  had 
dipped  in  the  blood  of  the  Hydra,  and  poor 
Pholos  breathed  his  last. 

The  death  of  his  kind  host  was  a  great  sor- 
row to  Herakles,  for  in  those  times,  when  there 
was  so  little  safety  in  travelling,  the  bond  of 
kindness  and  gratitude  between  host  and  guest 
was  one  of  the  closest  and  most  sacred,  often 
more  so  than  that  between  members  of  the 
same  family.  In  all  their  later  lives,  host  and 


1 8         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

guest  could  never  meet  as  enemies,  and  if  the 
chances  of  war  brought  them  face  to  face  as 
foes,  they  were  not  expected  to  fight.  They 
exchanged  greetings  and  gifts  and  drove  off  in 
different  directions. 

Herakles  therefore  sincerely  mourned  his 
friend,  performed  over  him  the  proper  funeral 
rites,  and  buried  him  with  all  due  honors  in  the 
side  of  the  mountain.  There  he  left  him,  sore 
at  heart,  but  comforted  by  knowing  that  he 
had  done  all  he  could  do  to  reconcile  the  shade 
of  Pholos,  and  that  his  soul  would  bear  him  no 
grudge  in  Spirit  Land. 

Then  Herakles  went  on  his  way  in  search  of 
the  Boar.  He  soon  spied  him  in  a  dense 
thicket  and  chased  him  to  the  very  top  of  the 
mountain.  The  mountain-top  was  covered  with 
deep  snow,  which  prevented  the  Boar  from 
running  fast  enough  to  escape.  So  Herakles 
ran  up  to  him,  caught  him  in  a  net,  threw  him 
over  his  shoulder  and  carried  him  off  alive  to 
Mykenas. 

It  is  said  that  Eurystheus  hid  himself  in  a 
large  brazen  bowl  when  he  heard  Herakles 
approaching  the  city,  and  that  Herakles  threw 
the  Boar  into  the  same  brazen  bowl  as  the 
safest  place  in  which  to  keep  him.  How  as- 
tonished Eurystheus  must  have  been  to  find 


Herakles  Cleans  the  Augeian  Stables  19 

himself  in  such  terrible  company !  And  we 
can  fancy  that  he  scrambled  out  with  all  pos- 
sible haste. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FIFTH   LABOR— HERAKLES  CLEANS  THE 
AUGEIAN  STABLES 

WE  have  already  read  about  Elis,  a  plain  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  Greece,  where  all  the  peo- 
ple used  to  worship  Zeus  and  where  they  built 
a  wonderful  temple  in  his  honor.  They  built  a 
temple  to  Hera,  his  wife,  also,  and  many  other 
temples  which  were  filled  with  statues.  What 
a  fine  time  you  would  have  if  you  could  only 
go  and  see  this  beautiful  land.  Perhaps  you 
will  some  time. 

The  temples  are  in  ruins  now,  and  they  cov- 
er enough  ground  for  a  small  town.  The  huge 
blocks  of  marble  lie  on  the  ground  just  as  they 
fell,  and  there  are  the  marble  floors  as  people 
used  to  see  them  two  thousand  years  ago. 
There  is  a  high  hill  close  to  the  ruins.  It  is 
called  the  mountain  of  Kronos,  "  Old  Father 
Time."  Kronos  is  said  to  have  been  one  of 
the  early  kings  of  Elis  and  he  was  the  father  of 
Zeus.  He  swallowed  up  his  children  when 


20         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

they  were  babes,  if  we  care  to  believe  what  is 
said  of  him,  and  the  story  could  easily  be  true, 
for  Time  swallows  everything  if  he  is  only 
long  enough  about  it. 

The  strong  men  and  the  boys  used  to  come 
to  Elis  to  have  athletic  games  in  honor  of  Zeus. 
They  ran  races,  they  boxed,  they  shot  arrows 
and  did  all  sorts  of  things  to  show  how  strong 
they  were.  There  are  two  rivers  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Kronos,  and  beyond  the  rivers  are 
many  low  hills  where  people  used  to  sit  and 
watch  the  games. 

There  was  at  one  time  a  king  of  Elis,  Augeias, 
who  was  so  rich  in  cattle  that  he  hardly  knew 
what  to  do  with  them  and  consequently  he  built 
a  stable  miles  long  and  drove  his  cows  into  it. 
He  did  this  year  after  year  and  the  herds  kept 
growing  larger.  He  could  not  get  men  enough 
to  take  care  of  his  stables  and  the  cows  could 
hardly  get  into  them  on  account  of  the  filth ; 
or  if  they  did  get  in  they  were  never  sure  of 
getting  out  again  because  the  dirt  was  piled  so 
high. 

Eurystheus  thought  he  had  found  a  disagree- 
able and  impossible  task  for  Herakles,  and  so 
he  ordered  him  to  clean  out  the  stables  in  one 
day.  Herakles  told  Augeias  that  he  must  clean 
the  barns  and  promised  to  do  it  in  one  day  if 


Herakles  Cleans  the  Augeian  Stables  21 

he  would  give  him  one-tenth  of  all  his  cows. 
The  king  thought  Herakles  would  never  be 
able  to  do  it  in  one  day  and  readily  promised 
him  in  the  presence  of  his  son  one-tenth  of 
the  cows. 

The  king's  stables  were  close  to  the  two 
rivers,  near  Mount  Kronos.  Herakles  cut 
channels  and  sent  the  rivers  running  into  the 
stables.  They  rushed  along  and  carried  the 
dirt  out  so  quickly  that  the  king  was  aston- 
ished. He  did  not  intend  to  pay  the  promised 
reward  and  pretended  that  he  never  made  any 
such  promise. 

And  he  said  he  would  have  the  matter  come 
before  a  court  and  the  judges  should  decide  it. 
Then  Herakles  called  the  little  prince  as  a 
witness  before  the  judges,  and  the  boy  told  the 
truth  about  it,  which  caused  the  king  to  fall 
into  such  a  rage  that  he  sent  both  his  son  and 
Herakles  out  of  the  country.  Herakles  left 
the  land  of  Elis  and  went  back  to  Mykenae. 
But  his  heart  was  filled  with  contempt  for  the 
faithless  king. 


22         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  SIXTH   LABOR— THE  BIRDS  OF  STYM- 
PHALOS 

ON  the  northern  limit  of  Arcadia  is  a  huge 
cliff,  over  which  pours  a  black  ribbon  of  water. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  cliff  it  is  lost  among 
piles  of  rocks.  The  water  itself  is  not  black, 
but  it  appears  so  because  the  rock  is  covered 
with  black  moss,  and  so  the  stream  is  called 
the  Styx  or  Black  Water. 

The  Styx  is  icy  cold  and  it  runs  along  under 
the  ground  so  that  it  seems  to  belong  to  the 
dead,  and  is  called  the  River  of  Death.  When 
the  gods  used  to  make  a  promise  which  they 
did  not  dare  to  break  they  said,  "  I  promise  by 
the  Styx."  This  promise  was  called  "  the  Great 
Oath  of  the  Gods." 

Farther  on  in  the  land  of  Arcadia  there  is  a 
vale  called  Stymphalos.  It  lies  among  the 
mountains  and  is  open  to  the  storms  of  winter 
and  the  floods  of  spring.  And  there  are  a  lake 
and  a  city  both  called  Stymphalos.  The  peo- 
ple of  Athens  hope  to  carry  the  water  of  this 
lake  to  Athens  by  means  of  an  underground 


The  Birds  of  Stymphalos  23 

channel.  All  about  the  lake  are  hills  covered 
with  firs  and  plane-trees. 

Lake  Stymphalos  was  the  home  of  a  count- 
less number  of  birds  which  held  noisy  meetings 
in  the  woods.  They  had  iron  claws  and  their 
feathers  were  sharper  than  arrows.  They 
were  so  strong  and  fierce  that  they  dared  at- 
tack men,  and  would  tear  them  to  pieces  that 
they  might  feast  upon  human  flesh.  They 
bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Harpies,  and 
were  the  terror  of  all  the  people  who  lived 
near  Stymphalos. 

Eurystheus  ordered  Herakles  to  drive  the 
birds  away.  So  Herakles  took  his  bow  and 
quiver  and  went  to  the  lake.  But  the  forests 
were  so  dense  that  he  could  not  see  the  birds, 
and  he  sat  down  to  think  of  the  best  way  to 
drive  them  out.  Suddenly  the  goddess  of  wis- 
dom came  to  him  to  help  him. 

The  goddess  gave  him  a  huge  rattle  and  told 
him  how  to  use  it.  Herakles  went  up  on  to  the 
highest  mountain  that  lies  near  the  lake  and 
shook  the  rattle  with  a  will.  The  birds  were 
so  frightened  by  the  noise  that  they  came  out 
of  the  thick  wood  where  their  nests  were  and 
flew  high  up  into  the  air. 

Their  heavy  feathers  fell  like  flakes  in  a  driv- 
ing snow-storm.  Herakles  shot  at  the  birds 


24         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

with  his  arrows.  He  killed  a  great  many  of 
them  and  the  rest  were  so  scared  that  they 
flew  away  and  were  never  seen  again  at  Stym 
phalos. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  SEVENTH  LABOR— HERAKLES  CATCHES 
THE  MAD  BULL  OF  CRETE 

THERE  is  an  island  south  of  Greece  which  is 
so  large  that  it  would  take  you  from  early  morn- 
ing until  late  at  night  to  sail  past  it.  There  are 
high  mountains  all  along  the  shore  and  they 
look  as  if  they  were  covered  with  snow.  There 
is  a  cave  in  one  of  the  mountains  where  Zeus 
was  hidden  when  he  was  a  babe  so  that  his 
father,  Kronos,  should  not  swallow  him.  The 
nymphs  fed  him  on  honey  and  a  famous  goat 
gave  him  milk. 

The  name  of  this  island  was  Crete,  and  Minos 
ruled  there  as  king.  It  was  his  duty  to  sacrifice 
to  Poseidon,  the  God  of  the  Sea,  whatever  came 
up  out  of  the  water. 

Minos  was  rich  and  greedy.  He  loved  his 
cattle  better  than  the  will  of  the  gods.  It  came 
to  pass  that  a  wonderful  Bull  rose  from  the  sea 
while  Minos  was  king.  When  Minos  saw  him 


The  Horses  of  Diomedes  25 

he  admired  the  beauty  of  the  animal  so  much 
that  he  resolved  to  keep  him.  He  drove  the 
Bull  into  his  barn  and  sacrificed  another  to  the 
God  of  the  Sea. 

Poseidon  grew  angry  with  him  and  caused 
the  Bull  to  become  mad  so  that  no  one  dared  to 
approach  him.  Eurystheus  ordered  Herakles 
to  catch  him  and  bring  him  to  Mykenae. 

So  Herakles  went  to  Crete  and  begged  Minos 
to  give  him  the  Bull.  The  king  told  him  that 
he  was  entirely  welcome  to  the  Bull  if  he  could 
catch  him.  Herakles  seized  him  by  the  horns 
and  bound  his  feet  together  and  carried  him  off 
to  Mykenae. 

There  he  showed  the  mad  animal  to  Eurys- 
theus and  then  set  him  free.  The  Bull  wan- 
dered off  to  Sparta  and  over  the  hills  of 
Arcadia  and  crossing  the  Isthmus,  he  reached 
Marathon,  where  he  left  the  land  and  swam  off 
into  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  EIGHTH  LABOR — THE  HORSES  OF  DIOMEDES 

GREECE  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  wild 
and  mountainous  land,  called  Thrace.  The 
natives  were  not  of  Greek  stock  and  remained 
fierce,  lawless,  and  cruel  for  a  long  time  after 


26         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

Greece  had  become  the  most  civilized  of  coun- 
tries. They  were  so  quarrelsome  and  such 
desperate  fighters  that  their  country  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  favorite  residence  of  the  war 
god,  Ares. 

The  king  who  reigned  in  Thrace  at  the  time 
of  Herakles  was  so  much  worse  than  the  rest  of 
the  people  that  he  was  said  to  be  Ares'  own  son, 
and  he  was  called  the  storm  king.  He  was  very 
fond  of  horses  and  kept  a  breed  of  them  after 
his  own  heart  They  were  man-eating  horses, 
which  he  fed  on  the  flesh  of  any  strangers  who 
came  to  that  country  or  that  were  wrecked  on 
the  shore,  thus  breaking  the  most  sacred  laws 
and  making  himself  hated  by  men  and  gods. 
The  horses  were  blood-thirsty  and  so  furious 
that  they  had  to  be  chained  to  their  stalls. 

Eurystheus  commanded  Herakles  to  bring 
these  horses  to  his  stables  in  Mykenae.  This 
time  Herakles  took  several  friends  with  him, 
who  helped  him  catch  the  horses  and  lead  them 
to  the  shore.  Diomedes,  having  heard  of  the 
robbery,  started  in  pursuit  with  many  armed 
men. 

Herakles  and  his  friends  went  by  sea.  They 
attacked  the  guards  and  led  the  horses  down  to 
the  ship.  A  terrible  battle  followed,  in  which  the 
wicked  king  was  slain  by  Herakles,  who  threw 


The  Girdle  of  Hippolyte  27 

him  as  food  to  the  horses.  The  warriors  who 
helped  Diomedes  were  put  to  flight  and  some 
of  Herakles'  best  men  were  also  killed.  With 
the  rest  he  drove  the  horses  into  his  ship  and 
brought  them  safely  to  Mykenae. 

Eurystheus,  of  course,  had  no  intention  of 
keeping  them  in  his  stables  and  had  them  set 
loose.  They  ran  off  into  the  forests  of  Arcadia 
and  were  never  seen  again.  It  was  thought 
that  they  were  devoured  by  the  mountain 
wolves. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  NINTH   LABOR— THE   GIRDLE  OF 
HIPPOLYTE 

EURYSTHEUS,  as  we  have  seen,  sent  Herakles 
a  little  farther  every  time  in  hopes  of  never 
seeing  him  again.  It  would  take  you  a  whole 
day  going  on  the  best  steamer  to  get  to  Crete 
from  Athens,  and  in  those  days,  when  steamers 
had  not  been  thought  of,  the  sailing  must  have 
been  slow  indeed.  Eurystheus  now  sent  the 
hero  yet  farther  off  to  the  Black  Sea,  on  the 
southern  shore  of  which  there  lived  the  Ama- 
zons, a  nation  of  warlike  women. 

The   Amazons   were   brought    up  like  men. 


28          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

Their  main  occupation  was  war,  and  they  were 
excellent  horsewomen.  They  were  sharp- 
shooters with  the  bow  and  arrow.  Hippolyte, 
the  queen  of  the  Amazons,  was  a  brave  and 
handsome  woman.  She  wore  a  celebrated 
girdle,  the  gift  of  Ares,  as  a  sign  of  her  queenly 
rank. 

Eurystheus  had  a  daughter  who  had  heard 
of  the  beauty  of  the  famous  girdle  which  was 
worn  by  the  Amazon  queen.  She  begged  her 
father  to  send  Herakles  to  bring  it  to  her. 
Then  Eurystheus  ordered  Herakles  to  fetch  the 
girdle,  and  he  manned  a  ship  and  sailed  away, 
taking  several  companions  with  him. 

After  many  wanderings  they  reached  the 
Black  Sea  and  sailed  to  the  Amazon  country. 
Queen  Hippolyte  was  at  once  informed  that 
some  strangers  had  arrived  from  a  far-off  land, 
and  she  came  down  to  the  shore  to  learn  why 
they  had  come.  Herakles  told  her  that  a  prin- 
cess had  sent  him  to  get  the  girdle  given  her 
by  Ares.  Hippolyte  admired  the  bold  hero  for 
his  frankness  and  promised  that  she  would  give 
it  to  him. 

But  Hera  changed  herself  into  an  Amazon 
and  rushing  into  the  midst  of  an  army  of  them 
cried  out,  "  The  strangers  are  carrying  off  our 
queen ! "  Then  all  the  Amazons  snatched  up 


The  Girdle  of  Hippolyte  29 

their  arms  and  rushed  on  horseback  to  the  ship. 
When  Herakles  saw  them  coming  armed  to  at- 
tack his  men,  he  thought  Hippolyte  had  be- 
trayed him  and  he  slew  her  and  took  her  girdle. 

Then  he  attacked  the  rest  of  the  Amazons 
and  put  them  to  flight.  When  the  battle  was 
over,  Herakles  and  his  companions  went  on 
board  the  ship  and  sailed  for  home. 

Soon  after  they  had  started  on  their  way  to 
Mykenas  they  found  Hesione,  the  daughter  of 
Laomedon,  on  the  shore  chained  to  a  rock. 
Laomedon  was  at  that  time  king  of  Troy,  and 
Herakles  and  his  companions  stopped  to  find 
out  why  the  daughter  of  a  great  king  had  to 
suffer  such  a  terrible  punishment.  She  told 
Herakles  that  Apollo,  the  sun  god,  and  Posei- 
don, the  god  of  the  sea,  once  took  on  the  form 
ot  man  and  began  to  build  walls  around  the 
city  of  Troy.  Her  father  promised  to  aid 
them  but  neglected  to  keep  his  promise.  This 
conduct  made  the  gods  indignant  and  Apollo 
sent  a  pestilence  to  rage  in  the  city  while 
Poseidon  sent  a  sea-monster  which  came  up 
out  of  the  ocean  and  devoured  the  people. 

Laomedon  asked  the  priest  of  Apollo  how  he 
might  appease  the  wrath  of  the  gods.  The 
priest  answered  that  the  city  would  be  freed 
from  the  double  plague  if  Laomedon  would 


30         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

chain  his  daughter  to  the  rock  on  the  shore 
where  the  monster  might  devour  her. 

Laomedon  obeyed  the  oracle  and  had  her 
chained  to  the  cliff  near  the  sea.  Just  then 
Herakles  arrived  and  stopped  near  the  shore, 
when  Laomedon  with  hot  tears  entreated  him 
to  save  his  daughter.  Herakles  promised  to  do 
it  under  the  condition  that  Laomedon  should 
give  him  as  a  reward  a  famous  horse  in  his 
possession. 

Herakles  killed  the  sea-monster,  but  Laome- 
don again  did  not  keep  his  promise  and  Her- 
akles left  Troy,  his  heart  filled  with  scorn  for 
the  faithless  king.  On  his  return  to  Mykense 
he  gave  the  girdle  of  the  Amazon  queen  to  his 
cousin,  the  daughter  of  Eurystheus. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  TENTH  LABOR  —  THE  CATTLE  OF  GERYON 

IBERIA,  now  called  Spain,  lies  at  the  farthest 
end  of  Europe,  and  beyond  it,  in  the  Atlantic,  is 
an  island  which  was  once  the  home  of  Geryon, 
a  famous  giant.  His  body  was  as  large  around 
as  three  other  men's  bodies  put  together.  He 
had  three  heads  and  three  pairs  of  legs  and  six 


The  Cattle  of  Geryon  31 

arms.  He  had  huge  wings  also  and  carried 
dangerous  weapons. 

Geryon  was  the  lord  of  many  herds  of  cat- 
tle. He  had  one  herd  of  red  oxen,  as  red  as 
the  sky  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  they  were 
guarded  by  a  trusty  herdsman  and  a  fierce  two- 
headed  dog.  Eurystheus  ordered  Herakles  to 
bring  the  cattle  to  Mykenae. 

Herakles  having  overcome  numberless  diffi- 
culties, wandering  through  wild  deserts  and 
unknown  lands,  finally  reached  the  open  ocean, 
the  end  of  all.  There  he  erected  as  a  monu- 
ment two  pillars  opposite  each  other,  one  on 
the  African  shore,  and  one  in  Europe.  These 
were  called  the  Pillars  of  Herakles  in  those 
days,  but  now  they  are  known  as  the  Rocks  of 
Ceuta  and  Gibraltar. 

Helios,  the  Sun,  admiring  the  bravery  of 
Herakles,  lent  him  his  golden  skiff,  shaped  like 
a  cup.  Helios  always  sailed  round  the  world 
every  night  from  west  to  east  in  this  cup,  and 
Herakles,  although  he  feared  a  storm,  took  his 
place  in  the  strange  boat  and  started  for  the 
island  where  Geryon  tended  his  red  cattle. 
The  world,  as  the  Greeks  saw  it,  was  in  the 
form  of  a  great  plate,  and  the  ocean  was  a  river 
surrounding  it  as  the  rim  surrounds  the  plate. 

When  the  two-headed  dog  saw  Herakles  he 


32          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

rushed  at  him  with  fury,  and  the  herdsman  also 
attacked  him  at  the  same  time.  Herakles  slew 
them  both  with  his  club,  took  the  cattle  and 
fled  toward  the  boat.  Then  Geryon  sprang 
upon  him  and  forced  him  to  fight  for  his  life. 
They  had  a  dreadful  battle,  in  which  Herakles 
drew  his  bow  and  shot  at  the  giant  with  one  of 
his  deadly  arrows  and  Geryon  died. 

Herakles  at  once  drove  the  oxen  down  to 
the  boat,  and  after  a  safe  voyage  landed  them 
in  Iberia.  Then  he  started  for  home  on  foot, 
driving  his  cattle  northward  over  the  Pyrenees 
into  Gaul  or  France.  Here  he  was  attacked 
by  hundreds  of  people  who  wanted  to  rob  him 
of  his  cattle. 

Herakles  shot  at  them  with  his  arrows  and 
killed  great  numbers,  and  they  stoned  him 
in  return  with  large  stones.  Herakles  would 
have  lost  the  battle  but  Zeus  sent  down  a 
shower  of  rocks  of  vast  size,  and  Herakles 
hurled  them  at  his  foes,  driving  them  away 
like  frightened  sheep.  These  enormous  rocks 
are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  south  of  France. 

After  this  adventure  Herakles  drove  his  cat- 
tle over  the  Alps  and  down  into  Italy  across 
the  Tiber,  and  they  came  to  the  Seven  Hills  of 
Rome.  In  one  of  these  hills  there  was  a  cave, 
the  home  of  a  lawless  giant  named  Cacus. 


The  Cattle  of  Geryon  33 

He  was  a  creature  of  iron  strength,  and  was 
hideously  ugly.  He  breathed  out  fire  and 
smoke,  often  killing  people  in  this  way,  and 
everybody  in  all  the  country  about  feared  him. 
Cacus  saw  Herakles  coming  with  his  cattle 
over  the  river  and  among  the  hills,  and  he  de- 
termined to  steal  the  cattle  and  hide  them  in 
his  den. 

So  when  Herakles  was  asleep  and  the  cattle 
were  grazing  quietly,  Cacus  slipped  out  of  his 
cave  and,  seizing  great  numbers  of  them  by  the 
tails,  dragged  them  backward  into  the  cavern 
that  their  tracks  might  point  away  from  the 
cave  and  not  toward  it.  When  Herakles  awoke 
he  missed  his  cattle  and  began  to  look  for 
them.  He  found  their  tracks  and  went  in  the 
direction  they  seemed  to  point  out,  getting 
farther  and  farther  from  their  place  of  hiding. 
The  oxen  bellowed,  and  their  noises  were  muf- 
fled by  the  rocks  of  the  cavern,  but  Herakles 
heard  them  and  returned  to  the  Seven  Hills. 
Listening  intently  he  traced  them  to  the  right 
hill,  but  Cacus  had  braced  a  stone  slab  against 
the  opening  and  it  could  not  be  moved  from 
the  outside. 

Herakles  went  around  to  the  other  side  of 
the  hill  and,  tearing  the  stones  away,  forced  a 
new  entrance.  He  sprang  into  the  cave  and 


34         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

seized  the  terrible  monster  by  the  throat.  Ca- 
cus  blew  flames  into  the  hero's  face  and  tried 
to  burn  him  to  death,  but  Herakles  held  on  and 
strangled  the  giant  to  death.  A  volume  of 
black  smoke  came  from  his  mouth  and  a  stream 
of  melted  lead  as  he  fell  back  dead.  Herakles 
tore  the  slab  from  the  door  of  the  cave  and 
threw  the  body  of  Cacus  out  on  the  hill,  and 
all  the  people  came  to  see  it  and  rejoice  that 
their  foe  was  slain.  And  they  built  an  altar  to 
Herakles  and  instituted  games  to  be  held  every 
year  in  his  honor. 

Herakles  left  the  Seven  Hills  and  drove  his 
cattle  southward.  Being  tired,  he  lay  down 
to  rest  on  a  mountain  near  Locri,  and  the  grass- 
hoppers came  around  him  singing  in  such  shrill 
tones  that  he  could  not  sleep.  He  prayed  to 
the  gods  to  drive  them  away,  and  the  gods 
swept  them  out  of  that  region  so  that  they 
never  came  back. 

One  of  the  wild  oxen  ran  away  to  the  south- 
west and  escaped  to  an  island.  Herakles  fol- 
lowed, driving  the  whole  herd  over  to  the  isl- 
and. The  cattle  swam  across,  and  Herakles, 
sitting  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  oxen  and  hold- 
ing on  by  its  horns,  was  safely  taken  over.  He 
captured  the  runaway  and  wandered  for  a  long 
time  through  the  island,  enjoying  the  fresh 


The  Golden  Apples  of  Hesperides     35 

water  of  the  springs  and  the  kindness  of  the 
people.  Then  he  drove  his  cattle  back  to  Italy 
and  passed  up  the  shores  of  the  Ionian  Sea. 

But  Hera  sent  gadflies  to  make  the  cattle 
wilder  than  they  were  before,  and  they  scat- 
tered over  the  mountain-heights  as  clouds  are 
scattered  by  a  hot  wind.  They  fled  far  to  the 
east,  until  they  came  to  Thrace.  There  Hera- 
kles  gathered  together  as  many  as  he  could 
and  brought  them  to  Mykenae,  where  Eurys- 
theus  sacrificed  them  to  Hera. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE     ELEVENTH    LABOR— THE    GOLDEN  APPLES 
OF   HESPERIDES 

WHEN  the  wedding  between  Zeus  and  Hera 
was  celebrated  all  the  gods  brought  presents. 
Mother  Earth  brought  some  apple-trees  as  her 
gift.  These  trees  bore  precious  golden  apples, 
and  Zeus  and  Hera  were  so  pleased  with  their 
wonderful  wedding-present  that  they  appoint- 
ed four  maidens,  called  the  Daughters  of  the 
West,  to  guard  the  apples,  and  also  they  placed 
a  dragon  there  with  a  hundred  heads,  who 
never  slept. 


36         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

The  fruit  was  so  inviting  that  even  the  maid- 
ens would  have  been  tempted  to  eat  it  if  the 
terrible  dragon  had  not  kept  close  to  the  tree. 
A  roar  like  thunder  came  out  of  each  of  his 
hundred  mouths  and  frightened  everything 
away  that  dared  approach  the  trees,  and  light- 
ning darted  from  his  eyes  to  strike  down  in- 
truders. 

The  trees  grew  more  and  more  beautiful 
from  year  to  year,  and  the  apples  were  so 
heavy  that  the  boughs  bent  beneath  the  golden 
load.  They  grew  in  the  Garden  of  the  Hes- 
perides,  in  islands  way  off  to  the  west,  and 
were  watered  by  springs  of  nectar  which  had 
their  rise  near  the  throne  of  Zeus. 

Eurystheus  had  heard  of  the  apples  and  he 
ordered  Herakles  to  bring  them  to  him.  For 
a  long  time  Herakles  wandered  about  in  va- 
rious lands  until  he  came  to  the  river  Rhone, 
where  the  water-goddesses  or  nymphs  advised 
him  to  ask  counsel  from  the  ancient  lord  of  the 
deep  sea,  who  knew  all  the  secrets  of  the  ocean 
depths  and  whose  wisdom  was  beyond  that  of 
the  gods.  He  is  called  by  many  names,  but 
his  gentlest  name  is  Nereus,  and  he  does  not 
like  to  be  questioned  unless  he  can  take  any 
shape  he  pleases. 

He  usually  escapes  intruders,  but  to  those 


The  Golden  Apples  of  Hesperides     37 

who  are  not  afraid  and  who  manage  to  grasp 
and  to  hold  him,  he  freely  opens  the  store  of 
his  wisdom.  This  was  what  Herakles  did. 
Nereus  took  on  the  form  of  a  lion,  a  serpent, 
a  fish,  a  stream  of  water,  and  at  last,  of  an  old 
man,  but  Herakles  held  him  close  and  learned 
from  him  the  road  to  the  Garden  of  the  Hes- 
perides. 

Leaving  Nereus,  Herakles  travelled  south  into 
Africa,  where  he  met  Antseos,  a  huge  giant  who 
lived  in  the  desert.  Antseos  was  a  son  of  Earth 
and  Ocean,  and  he  was  as  strong  as  the  terri- 
ble sand-storms.  He  was  cruel  to  all  travellers 
who  crossed  his  domains  and  slew  them,  but 
he  loved  and  protected  the  tiny  Pygmies  that 
lived  all  around  him.  No  one  had  ever  been 
able  to  vanquish  him  in  battle,  for  Mother 
Earth  gave  him  new  strength  and  vigor  every 
time  he  lay  down  or  touched  the  ground. 

Herakles  wrestled  with  him  and  threw  him 
down  many  times,  but  Antseos  sprang  up 
stronger  than  ever.  At  last  Herakles  caught 
him  up  with  one  hand,  and  holding  him  high  in 
the  air  where  he  could  not  receive  help  from 
Mother  Earth,  squeezed  him  to  death. 

Herakles  was  tired  out  with  this  tremen- 
dous exertion  and  lay  down  in  the  desert  to 
rest.  But  he  did  not  sleep  long,  for  a  whole 


38         HerakleS)  and  Other  Heroes 

army  of  the  little  people,  seeing  their  beloved 
giant  lying  dead,  came  with  their  weapons  to 
attack  Herakles.  He  found  himself  covered 
with  them  from  head  to  foot.  He  sprang  up,  and 
quickly  gathering  up  his  lion's  skin,  crushed  a 
multitude  of  the  Pygmies  and  killed  them. 

Then  he  hurried  away  toward  the  east, 
going  through  many  countries  until  he  came 
to  India,  and  finding  himself  travelling  in  the 
wrong  direction,  turned  to  the  north  and  west 
and  came  to  the  Caucasus  Mountains.  Here 
he  found  Prometheus  chained  to  the  rocks  of  a 
high  mountain-peak.  Prometheus  had  taught 
mankind  the  use  of  fire  and  how  to  build 
houses  and  had  otherwise  interfered  with  the 
work  of  the  gods,  thereby  bringing  this  pun- 
ishment upon  himself.  Herakles  took  pity  on 
him  and  set  him  free.  In  return  for  this  kind- 
ly act  Prometheus  told  him  the  most  direct 
way  to  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides,  which 
was  through  Scythia  and  the  region  of  the 
Hyperboreans  at  the  back  of  the  North  Wind. 

On  his  way  Herakles  stopped  to  visit  Atlas, 
who  as  a  punishment  for  once  having  rebelled 
against  the  gods  was  obliged  to  carry  the 
heavens  on  his  shoulders.  "  Let  me  relieve 
thee  for  awhile,  friend  Atlas,"  said  Herakles, 
after  greeting  him  in  a  most  cordial  manner. 


The  Golden  Apples  of  Hesperides     39 

"  Let  me  take  the  heavens  on  my  shoulders  and 
I  will  let  thee  do  me  a  great  service  in  return. 
I  must  have  the  Golden  Apples  that  grow  in 
the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides  to  take  to  Eurys- 
theus,  and  thou  canst  bring  them  to  me." 

Atlas  gladly  placed  the  heavy  firmament  on 
Herakles'  shoulders  and  took  his  way  to  the 
Garden.  There  he  contrived  to  put  the  many- 
headed  dragon  to  sleep  and  then  slay  him. 
Taking  possession  of  the  Golden  Apples,  he 
returned  with  them  to  Herakles. 

"  I  thank  thee  very  much,  friend  Atlas," 
said  Herakles.  "  Take  thy  place  again  and 
give  me  the  apples." 

"  Nay,  I  have  borne  the  weight  of  the 
heavens  for  a  long  time,"  answered  Atlas. 
"  Thou  hadst  better  keep  my  place  and  I  will 
carry  the  Golden  Apples  to  Eurystheus." 

Herakles  was  taken  aback  at  this  reply  and 
began  to  consider  how  he  might  escape  from 
this  unexpected  dilemma.  At  last  he  spoke. 
"  Very  well,  I  will  willingly  remain  in  thy 
place,  friend  Atlas,"  he  said.  "  One  thing  only 
I  must  first  ask  of  thee.  Take  the  heavens 
back  just  for  a  moment  while  I  get  a  pad  to 
put  OR  my  head  so  that  the  weight  may  not 
hurt  it.  Otherwise  the  heavens  will  fall  and 
crush  us  both." 


40          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

Poor,  simple  old  Atlas  agreed  to  this,  and 
putting  the  Golden  Apples  on  the  ground  he 
again  took  the  firmament  on  his  shoulders. 
Herakles  picked  up  the  apples  and  went  off 
saying,  "  We  must  not  bear  malice  toward 
each  other,  friend  Atlas.  Good-by." 

With  this  he  departed  and  hastened  back  to 
Mykenae. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  TWELFTH   LABOR— HERAKLES   FETCHES 
CERBERUS  OUT  OF  HADES 

ACCORDING  to  the  terms  of  the  doom  that 
was  laid  upon  Herakles,  the  performance  of 
the  last  task  was  to  free  him  from  Eurystheus. 
Eleven  were  now  fulfilled  and  the  tyrant's  heart 
failed  him  when  he  thought  of  what  he  might 
expect  at  the  hands  of  the  hero  he  had  used  so 
ill  when  once  he  was  free  from  his  power. 

Cowards  always  fear  those  whom  they  have 
ill-treated,  so  he  determined  to  send  Herakles 
on  an  errand  from  which  he  thought  he  could 
not  possibly  return.  He  had  come  back  un- 
harmed from  every  known  and  unknown  coun- 
try on  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  who  was  ever 
known  to  return  alive  from  the  land  of  the 


Fetches  Cerberus  out  of  Hades       41 

dead?  So  Eurystheus  as  a  last  task  ordered 
him  to  go  down  to  Hades  and  bring  out  alive 
Cerberus,  the  three-headed  dog  that  guards  the 
entrance  to  the  lower  world,  feeling  sure  that 
Herakles  would  remain  forever  in  Hades. 

Cerberus  was  a  terrible  monster.  Besides 
having  three  heads,  he  had  a  tail  which  ended 
in  a  serpent's  head,  and  all  along  his  spine  he 
had  serpents'  heads  instead  of  hair.  His  duty 
was  to  see  that  no  dead  should  escape  from 
Hades  after  once  entering  its  gates. 

There  was  a  long  dark  cave  leading  down  to 
Hades  and  the  river  Styx  flowed  across  it.  A 
white-haired  old  ferryman,  Charon  by  name, 
waited  with  his  boat  on  the  shore  to  carry 
the  spirits  of  all  who  died.  There  they  were 
met  by  Minos,  the  great  judge,  who  told  them 
whether  they  could  go  into  the  fields  of  the 
Blessed  or  whether  they  were  doomed  to  the 
region  of  the  Unhappy.  Charon's  boat  was 
but  a  delicate  skiff  and  adapted  only  to  carry- 
ing souls  without  bodies,  so  Herakles  was  not 
a  welcome  passenger. 

Herakles  found  his  way  into  Hades  in  spite 
of  all  the  difficulties,  and  presenting  himself  to 
Pluto,  the  King  of  the  Dead,  begged  him  to 
give  him  the  Dog. 

Pluto  replied :  "  Take  him  and  lead  him  out 


42          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

into  the  world  and  thou  shalt  have  him.  But 
thou  must  not  use  any  weapon."  Herakles 
answered,  "  I  will  use  no  weapon  but  my  hands, 
and  with  them  alone  I  will  conquer  him." 
Wearing  his  breastplate  and  clad  in  the  lion's 
skin  he  approached  Cerberus,  who  stood  on 
guard  at  the  gates.  He  threw  his  arms  around 
the  Dog's  three  heads  and  pressed  them  with 
all  his  might.  The  Dog  fought  with  great  fury, 
and  bit  him  with  the  snake's  mouth  which  he 
had  at  the  end  of  his  tail.  Herakles  threw  his 
lion's  skin  over  the  head  of  the  Dog  and 
dragged  him  out  by  another  gate  into  the  day- 
light. Cerberus  had  never  seen  the  light  of 
the  sun  and  was  frightened  beyond  measure. 
He  foamed  at  the  mouth,  and  wherever  the 
foam  fell  upon  the  ground  it  caused  a  poisonous 
plant  to  grow. 

Herakles  took  Cerberus  to  Eurystheus,  who 
was  not  pleased  to  see  the  Dog  or  the  Hero. 
Then  he  carried  him  back  to  Hades  and  re- 
stored him  to  Pluto,  and  so  were  the  twelve 
great  labors  ended. 


Theseus,  the  Hero  of  Athens         43 
CHAPTER  XV 

THESEUS,  THE   HERO   OF  ATHENS 

THE  land  of  Attica  is  very  different  from 
Arcadia.  It  was  cleared  at  a  much  earlier  time 
than  the  southern  part  of  Greece,  which  could 
be  done  the  more  easily  as  the  soil  being 
naturally  rather  barren  was  not  covered  with 
the  thick,  bristling  forests  which  there  shel- 
tered so  many  dangerous  animals,  and  made  it 
such  hard  work  for  the  peasants  to  clear  the 
smallest  patch  of  farm. 

Then,  although  the  land  offers  but  scanty 
pasture  for  cattle  and  bears  but  few  kinds  of 
trees  and  crops,  it  happens  that  those  which  it 
does  bear  are  the  very  ones  that  were  the 
greatest  favorites  with  Greek  farmers  —  the 
olive  and  the  vine.  Besides  which,  being  a 
peninsula,  and  therefore  almost  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  the  sea,  fish  and  other  sea-food 
was  very  plentiful,  and  trade  with  more  or  less 
distant  neighbors  very  easy. 

Attica  has  no  very  high  mountains,  but  those 
that  there  are  supply  the  country  with  beauti- 
ful marbles,  both  white  and  colored.  The  peo- 
ple, having  such  lovely  material  within  reach, 


44          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

became  from  the  earliest  times  the  most  skil- 
ful of  builders.  Their  Acropolis,  for  which  nat- 
ure itself  supplied  them  with  a  beautiful,  tall 
rock,  of  bright-colored  stone,  soon  became 
their  greatest  pride.  It  was  the  envy  of  their 
neighbors,  because  of  the  splendid  marble 
palaces  and  temples  which  they  could  raise 
there  at  so  little  cost. 

The  city  which  grew  up  at  the  foot  of  the 
Acropolis  was  named  Athens,  after  the  god- 
dess of  wisdom  and  cunning  craft,  Athena,  the 
favorite  daughter  of  Zeus.  It  is  clear  from  this 
that  the  Athenians  considered  themselves  more 
civilized  and  in  every  way  superior  to  the  other 
Greeks.  Indeed,  they  were  all  that,  and  even 
as  far  back  as  the  heroic  times  their  city  began 
to  be  famous  above  others. 

In  this  favored  land  of  Attica,  at  the  same 
time  that  Herakles  astonished  the  world  with 
his  miraculous  deeds,  there  reigned  a  king, 
^Egeus,  who,  having  no  child  to  succeed  him 
on  the  throne,  was  grieved  at  heart.  So  ^Egeus 
went  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  Oracle,  and  the 
priestess  told  him  that  he  should  go  to  Troe- 
zene,  where  he  would  find  a  beautiful  and  gen- 
tle wife,  the  Princess  ^Ethra,  daughter  of  Pit- 
theus,  the  King  of  Trcezene.  And  the  Oracle 
promised  that  his  wife  should  bear  him  a  son 


Theseus,  the  Hero  of  Athens        45 

whose  name  would  become  famous  over  all  the 
world. 

So  ^Egeus  took  his  way  to  Troezene,  where 
he  found  Pittheus,  the  wise  old  king,  who  re- 
ceived him  hospitably  and  gave  him  his  daugh- 
ter, ^Ethra,  in  marriage.  ^Egeus  grew  very 
fond  of  his  wife,  but  after  awhile  he  had  to 
think  of  returning  to  his  own  kingdom,  which 
he  could  not  leave  to  itself  forever.  ^Ethra's 
father  was  old  and  feeble,  and  she  did  not  like 
to  leave  him  to  the  care  of  slaves;  so  ^Egeus 
agreed  to  let  her  stay  with  him. 

But  before  ^Egeus  departed  he  took  ^Ethra 
to  an  out-of-the-way  place  and  dug  a  pit  in 
which  he  hid  his  sword  and  sandals.  Then  he 
rolled  a  large  stone  over  the  pit  and  said  to  his 
wife :  "  Listen,  ^Ethra ;  take  good  care  of  the 
son  which  the  gods  are  about  to  send  us,  but 
do  not  tell  him  who  his  father  is.  When  he 
has  grown  to  be  a  youth,  bring  him  to  this 
spot,  and  if  he  is  able  to  lift  the  stone,  let  him 
take  the  sword  and  the  sandals  and  come  to 
me  with  them."  After  saying  these  words, 
^Egeus  kissed  his  wife,  and  bidding  her  an  af- 
fectionate farewell,  returned  to  Athens. 

When  Theseus  was  born,  ^Ethra  rejoiced 
greatly,  and  brought  him  up  with  great  care, 
as  she  had  promised  ^Egeus  she  would  do. 


46          Herakles,  and  otlier  Heroes 

He  was  the  pride  of  his  grandfather's  court, 
and  the  good  old  king  had  him  trained  in  all 
kinds  of  games  and  athletic  exercises  and  in 
the  use  of  the  lyre.  When  he  had  grown  up, 
yEthra  led  him  to  the  rock,  and  after  having 
told  him  the  name  of  his  father,  she  said  to 
him  :  "  My  son,  lift  up  this  heavy  stone.  You 
will  find  under  it  what  your  father  left  for  you. 
Take  his  gift  and  go  to  Athens  with  it" 

Theseus,  without  any  difficulty,  raised  the 
stone  with  his  strong  arms,  and  ^Ethra  hung  his 
father's  sword  over  his  shoulder  and  tied  the 
sandals  to  his  feet  Then  Theseus  was  ready  to 
set  out  for  Athens.  ^Ethra  advised  him  to  go 
by  sea.  It  was  the  quickest  and  safest  way. 
The  woods  by  land  were  everywhere  full  of 
dangers  from  wild  beasts  and  wicked  men. 

But  Theseus,  having  heard  of  the  great  deeds 
of  Herakles  and  envying  the  fame  of  the  hero, 
said  :  "  Herakles  was  set  the  task  to  destroy  the 
wicked  and  to  cleanse  the  land  and  sea  from 
evil-doers ;  and  so  I  will  not  shirk  tasks  which 
lie  under  my  very  feet  and  I  trill  not  shame  my 
father,  fleeing  ingloriously  over  the  sea,  where  I 
can  perform  no  noble  deeds  by  which  I  might 
prove  myself  a  worthy  son  to  him,  and  do  honor 
to  my  mother's  wisdom  in  bringing  me  up  in 
the  way  she  has  done." 


The  First  Exploits  of  Theseus       47 

Theseus  kissed  his  mother  and  grandfather 
and  started  on  his  journey  by  land.  The  worst 
part  of  his  road  lay  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth,  which  was  so  narrow  that  it  gave  little 
chance  for  escape. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   FIRST   EXPLOITS    OF   THESEUS.      HE    FINDS 
HIS   FATHER 

To  the  northwest  of  Trcezene  is  a  tongue  of 
land  projecting  into  the  ^Egean  Sea.  In  ancient 
times  the  town  of  Epidauros  was  situated  upon 
it,  and  the  temple,  where  Asklepios,  the  God  of 
Healing,  was  worshipped,  stood  near  by.  It 
was  a  wild  country  whose  hills  were  covered 
with  trees  and  shrubs — the  hiding-place  of  law- 
less robbers,  the  boldest  of  whom  was  named 
Periphetes.  He  was  also  called  Korynetes, 
and  he  used  an  iron  crown  for  a  weapon,  and 
with  it  he  smashed  the  heads  of  travellers. 

Periphetes  put  himself  in  Theseus'  way  and 
would  not  let  him  go  on.  But  the  youth  grap- 
pled with  him,  and  taking  his  iron  crown  from 
him,  crushed  him  to  death  with  it.  Theseus 
carried  the  crown  as  his  own  particular  weapon, 


48          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

just  as  Herakles  wore  the  skin  of  the  Nemean 
lion. 

The  most  cruel  of  all  the  robbers  lived  a  few 
miles  farther  to  the  north,  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth,  and  his  name  was  Sinis.  He  was  called 
the  Tree-bender,  because  he  used  to  bend  to- 
gether two  young  pines.  Then  he  would  tie  a 
man  by  a  leg  and  arm  to  each  tree  and  let  the 
trees  spring  back,  tearing  the  poor  wretch  to 
pieces.  Theseus  punished  this  malefactor  by 
giving  him  the  same  treatment  that  he  gave  to 
others,  and  the  people  of  the  Isthmus  were  so 
grateful  that  they  started  a  festival,  called  the 
Isthmian  Games,  to  be  held  in  honor  of  the  hero 
every  year. 

On  to  the  north  went  Theseus.  He  slew  a 
man-eating  boar  at  Krommyon,  which  had  long 
terrified  the  people  of  that  district.  Coming 
among  the  wild  cliffs  near  the  sea  in  Megaris, 
he  heard  of  the  cruel  giant  Skiron,  who  used 
to  lie  in  wait  for  travellers.  This  evil-doer  com- 
pelled those  who  fell  into  his  power  to  wash  his 
feet.  This  task  performed,  he  flung  the  unlucky 
traveller  into  the  sea. 

When  Theseus  passed  his  den  Skiron  ordered 
him  to  wash  his  feet,  and  Theseus  answered : 
"  To  tell  the  truth,  friend  Skiron,  thy  demand 
is  too  small.  I  would  willingly  do  more  for  thee. 


The  First  Exploits  of  Theseus       49 

Not  only  are  thy  feet  in  need  of  a  bath  but  so 
is  thy  whole  body.  The  sea  is  near  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  thorough  washing."  And  he  seized 
Skiron  around  the  body  and  flung  him  over  the 
rocks  into  the  breakers.  From  that  time  until 
to-day  the  rocks  are  called  the  Skironian  Cliffs. 
A  little  farther  on  Theseus  came  upon  another 
famous  robber  known  far  and  near  as  the 
Stretcher,  Korydallon,  or  Prokrustes.  This 
robber  used  to  force  the  wayfarer  to  lie  down 
on  a  bed  which  was  always  too  long  or  too 
short  for  him.  If  the  traveller  proved  too  tall 
for  the  bed,  Prokrustes  would  cut  off  his  feet 
and  legs  to  make  him  short  enough  to  fit  it. 
But  if  the  traveller  were  too  short  for  the 
bed,  he  would  have  him  stretched  until  his  feet 
touched  the  foot-board.  Prokrustes  invited 
Theseus  to  try  the  bed,  but  Theseus  answered 
him:  "Thou  shalt  try  it  first,  friend  Prokrus- 
tes, and  I  will  try  it  after  thee."  Then  Pro- 
krustes was  compelled  to  lie  down  in  the  bed, 
which  was  much  too  short  for  him,  and  Theseus 
cut  off  his  head  and  his  feet  to  make  him  fit  the 
bed,  as  the  cruel  Stretcher  had  done  to  so 
many  hapless  strangers.  Theseus  exterminated 
a  great  many  more  cruel  robbers  who  had 
made  the  roads  to  Athens  unsafe,  and  the  glory 
of  his  deeds  went  on  before  him. 


50          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

Theseus,  having  performed  these  brave  deeds, 
reached  Athens;  but  the  rougher  class,  seeing  a 
stranger  who  wore  a  garb  of  a  different  fashion 
from  their  own,  scoffed  at  him,  as  is  the  custom 
of  vulgar  people.  His  hair  was  long  and  his 
form  slender,  so  they  called  him  a  girl  and  told 
him  that  he  ought  to  take  his  nurse  with  him  to 
protect  him.  As  he  walked  along  among  these 
coarse  people  he  came  to  a  wagon  heavily  laden. 
He  took  up  the  wagon  with  its  load  and  tossed 
it  high  in  the  air  as  easily  as  he  would  toss  a  ball, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  his  tormentors. 

Theseus  having  come  to  the  king's  palace 
in  Athens,  at  once  presented  himself  before 
^Egeus.  But  he  did  not  immediately  make 
himself  known  as  his  son.  When  he  was  called 
to  the  table  as  a  guest  he  drew  his  sword  as  if 
he  wanted  to  eat  the  meat  with  it,  and  ^Egeus 
recognized  him  as  his  son  and  received  him 
with  joy  and  affection.  Calling  together  the 
citizens  he  proclaimed  Theseus  his  son  and 
successor. 

The  citizens  had  heard  of  his  heroic  exploits, 
and  acknowledged  him  heir  to  the  throne  amid 
general  rejoicings.  Only  the  nephews  of  ^Egeus 
were  sorry  that  Theseus  had  appeared  in  their 
midst.  They  had  hoped  to  inherit  the  king- 
dom after  their  uncle's  death,  believing  that  he 


The  Adventures  of  Theseus          51 

had  no  children.  But  now  that  Theseus  came 
among  them  as  a  successor  to  the  throne,  they 
rebelled. 

Theseus  was  brave  and  strong  enough  to 
defend  his  father  and  himself.  He  fought  the 
rebels  one  after  another  and  killed  them.  These 
victories  increased  his  glory  greatly  and  won 
him  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Athens. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  THESEUS 
/.   The  Marathonian  Bull 

THESEUS  was  too  active  to  love  an  idle  life 
and  began  to  look  around  him  to  find  ways  of 
helping  his  father's  people.  He  wanted  to  be 
worthy  of  the  throne.  "  It  is  not  enough,"  he 
said, "  that  I  am  of  royal  descent.  I  should  also 
have  a  royal  heart  and  be  of  real  service  to  man- 
kind. I  must  be  a  leader  in  deeds  as  well  as  in 
words."  He  soon  found  an  opportunity  to  show 
his  prowess. 

To  the  northeast  of  Athens  is  a  beautiful 
mountain-ridge  with  a  white  marble  band 
across  it.  This  is  the  famous  Pentelikon,  and 
the  purple  mountain  of  Hymettos  is  separated 


52  Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

from  it  by  a  narrow  pass.  Beyond  these  moun- 
tains is  the  plain  of  Marathon  sloping  down  to 
the  blue  sea.  In  the  plain  of  Marathon  the 
terrible  Bull  which  Herakles  had  brought  from 
Crete  to  Eurystheus  still  roamed,  but  the  ty- 
rant had  turned  it  loose.  This  Bull  did  great 
havoc  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  surround- 
ing country. 

Theseus  heard  of  their  distress  and  promised 
to  free  them  from  the  fearful  beast.  He  armed 
himself  with  a  tough  shield  and  a  long  spear 
and  went  to  Marathon.  When  he  found  out  the 
Bull's  hiding-place  he  chased  and  overtook  him. 
He  grappled  him  by  the  horns  with  his  power- 
ful hands  and  dragged  him  back  to  Athens. 
The  people  of  Athens  and  all  the  country  about 
came  to  meet  Theseus.  They  rejoiced  because 
he  had  rid  them  of  such  a  pest  and  they  ad- 
mired his  strength,  but  they  did  not  dare  to 
help  him,  and  stood  ready  to  run  for  their  lives 
in  case  the  Bull  should  slip  away  from  him. 
Theseus  went  through  the  midst  of  the  city 
holding  on  to  the  Bull,  which  he  took  to  the 
temple  of  Apollo  and  offered  up  as  a  sacrifice 
to  that  god.  Old  ^Egeus  shed  tears  of  joy 
when  he  saw  how  the  gods  honored  him  in  the 
possession  of  such  a  son. 


The  Adventures  of  Theseus          53 

//.    Theseus  Sails  to  Crete 

But  there  was  a  greater  adventure  with 
greater  glory  awaiting  Theseus,  for  Athens 
had  a  more  terrible  enemy  than  the  mad  Bull  of 
Marathon.  It  had  happened  years  before  that 
a  son  of  Minos,  the  wise  and  powerful  King  of 
Crete,  had  come  to  Athens  to  take  part  in  the 
yearly  festival  held  in  honor  of  the  goddess 
Athena.  He  took  part  in  all  their  public  games 
and  came  off  victor  every  time.  The  athletes 
of  Athens  were  very  angry  that  a  man  from 
another  country  should  show  more  skill  and 
carry  off  all  the  prizes,  so  with  ^Egeus'  consent 
they  killed  him. 

Then  Minos  made  war  on  the  Athenians  and 
killed  a  great  number  of  them,  and  the  gods 
also  punished  them  for  this  treacherous  murder 
by  letting  the  land  bear  no  crops  and  by  send- 
ing on  them  a  deadly  fever. 

The  Athenians  were  compelled  to  surrender 
to  Minos,  and  they  had  to  agree  to  the  most 
humiliating  terms.  They  promised  to  send 
seven  youths  and  seven  maidens  every  year 
to  Crete. 

Now  Minos  had  a  park  laid  out  by  the  most 
cunning  man  of  his  times.  There  were  walks 
and  paths  so  many  and  so  winding  that  no  one 


54          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

who  got  into  it  could  get  out  again,  but  had  to 
wander  on  and  on,  getting  more  and  more  con- 
fused. This  park  was  called  the  Labyrinth,  and 
in  the  centre  of  it  was  a  cave  in  which  just  at 
that  time  King  Minos  kept  a  dangerous  monster 
which  had  the  body  and  limbs  of  a  man  but  the 
head  of  a  bull. 

The  creature  was  called  the  Minotaur  and  it 
was  fierce  and  cruel.  There  was  only  one  way 
to  prevent  him  from  roaming  the  fields  and  en- 
dangering  the  lives  of  the  people.  He  had  to 
be  kept  in  a  good  humor,  and  this  could  be  done 
only  by  feeding  him  now  and  then  on  human 
flesh.  So  Minos  bethought  him  of  using  the 
Athenian  captives  for  that  purpose. 

When  the  time  of  the  third  tribute  arrived, 
the  citizens  of  Athens  began  to  urge  ^Egeus  to 
do  something  to  prevent  the  dreadful  sacrifice. 
They  accused  him  of  being  the  sole  cause  of 
the  trouble.  They  told  him  that  it  was  shame- 
ful that  he  had  no  share  in  the  punishment. 
These  complaints  wounded  the  ambitious  The- 
seus to  the  quick. 

His  sense  of  justice  told  him  that  it  would 
be  only  right  for  him  to  share  the  troubles  of 
the  citizens,  and  therefore  he  insisted  on  going 
to  Crete  with  the  seven  youths  and  the  seven 
maidens. 


The  Adventures  of  Theseus          55 

The  citizens  felt  sorry  for  Theseus,  and 
^Egeus  prayed  his  son  to  remain  at  home  with 
him,  but  Theseus  answered  :  "  My  dear  father, 
how  can  I  be  happy  when  the  whole  nation 
suffers?  How  can  I  abide  in  safety  when  our 
subjects  are  sacrificed  ?  Do  not  try  to  dissuade 
me,  for  honor  calls." 

The  vessel  which  was  to  take  them  to  Crete 
was  ready  to  start.  It  carried  a  black  sail,  a 
sign  of  its  direful  errand.  Theseus  tried  to  con- 
sole his  father  by  telling  him  that  he  was  going 
to  kill  the  Minotaur.  ^Egeus  was  quick  to  be- 
lieve in  the  valor  of  his  son  and  gave  another 
sail,  a  white  one,  to  the  pilot,  telling  him  to  hoist 
it  if  they  returned  happily,  but  to  leave  the 
black  one  up  if  Theseus  failed  to  win  the  vic- 
tory. The  ship  sailed  away  and  the  parents  and 
relatives  of  the  youths  and  maidens  wept  bitter 
tears,  but  all  the  citizens  called  aloud  to  the 
gods  to  give  Theseus  success  in  his  generous 
undertaking. 


56          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 
CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  ADVENTURES   OF  THESEUS 
///.   Theseus  Kills  the  Minotaur 

THE  ship  reached  Crete  and  Minos  ordered 
the  weeping  youths  and  maidens  to  be  thrown 
into  the  den  of  the  Minotaur  and  Theseus 
with  them.  By  a  lucky  chance  Ariadne,  the 
daughter  of  the  king,  saw  Theseus  and  was 
moved  with  pity  and  a  wish  to  save  him.  She 
slyly  gave  him  a  ball  of  yarn  and  told  him  to 
fasten  one  end  of  it  to  the  inside  entrance  to 
the  Labyrinth  and  then  wind  it  off  as  he 
walked  along  that  he  might  find  his  way  back 
again. 

Theseus  took  the  ball  and  went  with  his 
companions  into  the  Labyrinth.  He  fastened 
one  end  of  the  thread  firmly  to  the  inside  of 
the  entrance,  and  as  he  walked  along  the  thread 
caught  and  held  on  to  the  bushes.  They  could 
hear  the  bellowing  of  the  Minotaur  as  they 
approached  the  cave,  and  the  companions  of 
Theseus  hid  themselves  in  the  bushes,  trem- 
bling with  fright.  But  Theseus  approached 
fearlessly,  and  rushing  upon  the  Minotaur, 


The  Adventures  of  Theseus          57 

thrust  his  sword  through  him  and  the  monster 
fell  dead. 

The  youths  and  maidens  came  out  from  their 
hiding-places,  and  surrounding  Theseus,  kissed 
his  hands  and  called  him  their  preserver. 
Theseus,  guided  by  the  thread  which  Ariadne 
had  given  him,  led  his  companions  safely  to 
the  entrance  of  the  Labyrinth.  And  when 
they  were  free  from  its  entanglements,  Theseus 
gratefully  raised  up  his  hands  to  heaven  and 
offered  a  prayer  of  thanks  to  the  gods  for  their 
escape. 

Theseus  and  the  companions  whom  he  had 
saved  reached  the  sea-shore  unhindered,  hur- 
ried their  vessel  into  the  water,  unfurled  the 
sail,  and  rowed  with  all  their  might  in  order 
to  escape  as  quickly  as  possible  from  Crete 
and  return  to  their  own  beloved  country.  The 
wind  was  favorable  and  the  vessel  cut  through 
the  sea  like  a  swan.  They  passed  through  the 
midst  of  the  islands  of  the  sea  and  first  landed 
at  Delos,  the  home  of  the  god,  Apollo.  This 
beautiful  land  was  like  a  floating  star  and  was 
said  to  be  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  pure  gold. 

Theseus  offered  a  sacrifice  to  Apollo  and 
danced  with  the  youths  and  maidens  a  dance 
in  which  they  represented  the  winding  pas- 
sages of  the  Labyrinth.  But  in  their  great  joy 


58          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

neither  he  nor  the  pilot  thought  of  unfurling 
the  white  sail.  Old  ^Egeus  came  every  day  to 
the  sea-shore  to  watch  for  the  return  of  the 
ship.  There  he  sat  on  a  high  cliff  and  gazed 
over  the  wide  waters ;  he  hoped  to  see  the 
boat  coming  with  the  white  sail  hoisted,  and 
was  in  great  agony  of  mind  for  fear  he  should 
see  it  coming  with  the  black  sail  up. 

At  last  he  espied,  one  day,  a  ship  coming 
from  afar.  The  nearer  it  came  the  greater 
grew  the  old  king's  anxiety.  Soon  he  recog- 
nized the  boat.  It  was  the  one  which  had 
borne  away  his  beloved  Theseus.  But  alas! 
the  ship  still  carried  the  black  sail,  the  sign  of 
sorrow. 

"  My  son  is  dead  ! "  exclaimed  the  unhappy 
king.  "  My  only  son  is  dead !  My  beloved 
Theseus  !  " 

The  grief  of  JEgeus  was  beyond  bounds  and 
his  reason  left  him.  In  despair  he  threw  him- 
self from  the  cliff  into  the  sea  and  was  drowned, 
and  from  that  time  all  that  water  has  been 
called  the  ^Egean  Sea. 

The  ship  entered  the  port  near  Athens  and 
Theseus  brought  the  thanksgiving  offerings 
which  he  had  promised  the  gods  when  he  left 
the  port,  and  he  sent  a  herald  into  the  city  to 
announce  their  safe  return. 


The  Adventures  of  Theseus  59 

The  Athenians,  as  soon  as  they  learned  that 
Theseus  and  the  seven  youths  and  seven  maid- 
ens had  returned  safely,  hastened  to  the  palace, 
men,  women,  and  children,  and  received  him 
with  joy  and  honors.  But  Theseus'  pleasure 
changed  to  grief  when  he  learned  that  his 
father  had  died  on  account  of  his  great  love 
for  his  son. 

The  Athenians  led  him  forth,  however, 
amidst  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  enthu- 
siasm and  proclaimed  him  their  king.  Thus 
Theseus  became  King  of  Athens  not  only  be- 
cause he  was  of  royal  descent  but  because 
he  was  manly  and  loved  his  country  better 
than  himself.  The  court  of  Theseus  became 
celebrated  for  its  splendor  and  he  ruled  with 
prudence.  The  villages  of  the  plain  of  Attica 
had  formerly  been  at  war  with  each  other. 
Now  they  united  under  one  government,  with 
Athens  as  the  chief  city.  Theseus  founded 
festivals  and  encouraged  education,  and  was  in 
every  way  a  good  and  wise  leader. 

Long  after  his  death  there  was  a  beautiful 
temple  erected  in  his  honor,  and  it  stands  in 
Athens  to  this  day.  The  stories  of  his  great 
deeds  are  carved  in  its  stones,  which  are  much 
worn  by  time.  There  you  can  see  the  hero 
slaying  Prokrustes,  Skiron,  the  Minotaur,  and 


60          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

Periphetes.  And  you  can  see  the  capture  of 
the  wild  Bull  of  Marathon.  There,  too,  are  the 
stories  of  Herakles,  in  stone,  as  he  slew  the 
lion  and  hydra  and  performed  other  valiant 
deeds. 

We  speak  of  these  heroes  as  if  they  had  once 
lived  in  the  flesh  and  died  like  mortals,  but  no 
one  can  tell  whether  or  not  they  are  purely 
Heroes  of  the  Myth. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

JASON,  THE   HERO   OF  THESSALY 
Phrixos  and  Helle. 

BCEOTIA  is  a  district  northwest  of  Athens 
and  quite  different  from  the  Attic  plain.  The 
name  means  The  Land  of  Cattle,  because  it 
abounds  in  fat  pasture-lands,  is  moist  and  fer- 
tile, and  its  beautiful  green  meadows  slope  up 
to  the  wooded  mountains  and  lead  down  to 
well-watered  valleys.  Bceotia  was  always  the 
paradise  of  farmers,  who  from  the  conditions  of 
their  life  became  famous  for  their  stupidity. 

Thebes  was  the  capital  of  Boeotia,  but  each 
district  had  its  own  smaller  city  and  its  own  rul- 
ing family,  whose  sons  called  themselves  kings. 
One  of  these  petty  kings,  Athamas,  had  a  son 


Jason,  the  Hero  of  Thessaly         61 

and  daughter  named  Phrixos  and  Helle,  and 
when  their  mother  died  he  took  another  wife, 
the  fair  Ino,  but  she  was  not  as  good  as  she  was 
fair,  for  she  was  jealous  of  her  step-children. 
So  she  contrived  a  plot  for  getting  rid  of  them 
which  was  well  carried  out.  Ino  persuaded  all 
the  women  of  the  country  to  use  the  seed  grain 
or  hide  it  so  that  none  of  it  could  be  used  for 
the  next  year's  crop. 

The  women  followed  the  queen's  advice  and 
the  next  year  there  was  a  great  famine  in  the 
land.  The  women  did  not  dare  to  tell  their 
secret,  although  their  families  were  beginning 
to  starve.  Then  Athamas  sent  to  the  Oracle  at 
Delphi  in  order  to  find  out  the  cause  of  the 
trouble,  and  how  he  might  deliver  the  country 
from  the  distress. 

But  Ino  secretly  persuaded  the  messenger  to 
say  that  the  Oracle  had  given  the  following 
answer  :  "  The  famine  will  cease  when  Athamas 
has  sacrificed  Phrixos  to  Zeus." 

The  king  was  almost  stunned  with  grief 
when  he  received  this  message.  How  was  it 
possible  for  him  to  sacrifice  his  own  beloved 
son  ?  But  the  wicked  Ino  published  the  false 
Oracle  among  the  starving  people,  who,  driven 
by  hunger,  clamored  loudly  for  the  death  of 
Phrixos.  The  king  being  compelled  by  his 


62  Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

people,  allowed  Phrixos  to  be  led  to  the  altar 
to  be  sacrificed. 

But  the  spirit  of  the  child's  own  mother 
came  down  in  the  form  of  a  cloud  to  save  him. 
She  brought  a  large  ram  whose  fleece  was  of 
shining  gold,  and  said  to  the  two  children : 
"  My  dear  unfortunate  little  ones,  come  and  sit 
on  this  golden  sheep  and  he  will  fly  away  with 
you  and  carry  you  safely  into  a  far  country, 
where  the  wicked  Ino  will  no  longer  have  the 
power  of  injuring  you."  Then  she  helped 
Phrixos  to  mount  to  the  back  of  the  ram  and 
she  placed  his  little  sister  Helle  behind  him 
with  both  her  arms  around  him,  and  disap- 
peared. 

The  ram  flew  up  into  the  air  like  a  bird  and 
soared  away  over  mountains  and  valleys  and 
rivers  and  plains.  Away,  away  they  went 
through  the  blue  sky  until  they  reached  the 
straits  which  separate  Europe  from  Asia. 
There  Helle  lost  her  balance  and  fell  into  the 
sea.  In  vain  did  Phrixos  try  to  save  his  sister, 
who  cried  and  stretched  out  her  arms  to  him. 
The  poor  child  was  swallowed  by  the  waves 
and  devoured  by  sea-monsters.  From  that 
time  the  sea  in  that  place  has  been  called  the 
Hellespont. 

Phrixos  sailed  on  alone,  on  the  back  of  the 


Jason   Claims  His   Throne  63 

ram,  which  took  him  to  the  farthest  shore  of  the 
Black  Sea  and  landed  him  at  Kolchis.  There 
the  king  received  Phrixos  kindly.  Phrixos 
sacrificed  the  ram  to  Zeus  and  hung  up  the 
golden  fleece  in  a  grove  which  was  sacred  to 
Ares,  the  God  of  War.  The  golden  fleece  was 
priceless  in  value  and  was  guarded  by  a  ter- 
rible sleepless  dragon. 


CHAPTER   XX 

JASON  CLAIMS   HIS  THRONE 

MORE  than  a  hundred  miles  northwest  of 
Athens  is  Thessaly,  the  most  northern  country 
of  Greece.  The  greater  part  of  it  consists  of 
mountains,  the  highest  and  steepest  of  all 
Greece.  Among  these  the  loftiest  is  Mount 
Olympos,  whose  summit,  with  its  three  snowy 
peaks  standing  out  like  glittering  marble 
against  the  blue  sky,  rises  high  above  the  sur- 
rounding ridges.  So  glorious  and  so  pure  and 
so  high  did  it  appear  to  the  ancient  Greeks, 
that  they  imagined  it  to  be  the  dwelling-place 
of  the  gods.  It  seemed  the  very  end  of  the 
world  as  it  rose  up  and  shut  off  this  horizon ; 
and  they  believed  the  throne  of  Zeus,  himself, 
to  be  on  its  summit. 


64          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

When  the  shining  crest  was  obscured  by 
clouds,  pious  people  from  many  countries 
around  turned  to  it  in  awe  and  said  that  the 
Lord  of  Heaven  had  hid  his  face,  and  waited 
for  him  to  hurl  his  lightnings  and  speak  in 
thunder.  And  the  people  of  Thessaly  loved  to 
walk  in  the  Vale  of  Tempe,  where  the  wild  fig- 
tree  and  wild  grape,  the  willow,  and  ivy  clung 
with  tough  roots  to  the  rugged  rocks  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain. 

The  most  mountainous  portion  of  Thessaly 
was,  of  course,  wild  and  inhospitable.  The 
Centaurs  were  said  to  dwell  in  its  gorges  and 
caves,  and  it  was  claimed  that  they  were  wiser 
and  gentler  than  the  Centaurs  of  Arcadia. 
They  were  said  to  have  gathered  much  lore 
of  herbs  and  forest  things,  and  to  have  been 
excellent  surgeons.  The  same  was  told  by 
fame  of  the  Thessalian  mountain-women,  who, 
while  as  rugged  and  fierce  as  the  men,  were 
said  to  be  extremely  handsome  and  great  mis- 
tresses in  the  art  of  making  ointments  and 
magic  waters  and  juices  for  the  casting  of 
spells ;  in  short,  they  were  famous  all  over 
Greece  as  the  most  knowing  and  dangerous 
witches. 

The  land  changed  wonderfully  where  it 
sloped  down  to  the  sea.  The  narrow  valleys 


Jason  Claims  His  Throne  65 

spread  out  into  broad  plains.  The  moisture, 
gathered  and  treasured  by  the  forests  and  pro- 
tected by  their  shade,  filtered  through  the  soil, 
keeping  the  grass  green  for  the  large  herds 
which  at  that  time  were  the  greatest  wealth, 
both  of  farmer  and  king ;  while  the  thousand 
rivulets  and  streamlets  that  hurried  down  the 
mountain-side  in  brooks  and  torrents  ran  to- 
gether and  formed  handsome  rivers  which 
scarcely  ever  became  dry  or  even  shallow,  as 
did  the  small  and  stony  streams  of  Attica. 
Many  of  the  rivers  of  Attica  are  so  small  that 
they  never  reach  the  sea  at  all,  but  run  into  the 
sand  and  waste  themselves,  while  the  Thessa- 
lian  rivers  all  carry  their  waters  to  the  sea. 

The  largest  of  them,  that  which  flows  through 
the  richest  and  most  fertile  country,  is  the  Pen- 
eus,  famed  in  song  and  story.  In  this  beauti- 
ful land  of  Thessaly  lived  a  king,  Pelias.  He 
really  had  no  right  to  the  throne,  for  he  had  an 
older  brother.  But  that  brother,  being  of  a 
peaceful  nature,  allowed  Pelias  to  take  the 
crown  from  him,  while  he  himself  retired  to 
some  land  he  had  in  the  mountains.  His  son, 
Jason,  a  handsome  youth  of  great  promise,  he 
sent  for  his  education  to  the  wise  Centaur, 
Chiron,  who  made  his  home  in  the  deepest 
mountain-caves. 


66          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

When  Jason  was  twenty  years  old  and  his 
education  in  manly  sports  and  in  the  art  of 
war,  in  song  and  in  music,  was  such  as  to  do 
honor  to  his  master,  Chiron,  he  was  directed 
by  an  Oracle  to  go  straight  to  his  uncle  Pelias 
and  boldly  claim  his  father's  kingdom.  This 
was  an  undertaking  after  his  own  heart. 
Shortly  after  this  Pelias  celebrated  the  yearly 
festival  of  Poseidon,  the  God  of  the  Sea,  by 
solemn  sacrifices  offered  on  the  shore.  This 
was  a  grand  national  occasion,  so  he  invited 
everyone  around  and  did  not  dare  to  leave 
Jason  out. 

Jason  accepted  the  invitation.  He  donned 
the  skin  of  a  panther  which  he  had  killed  him- 
self, and  taking  two  long  spears,  started  on  his 
way.  Now  Pelias  had  learned  from  an  Oracle 
that  he  should  lose  his  kingdom,  and  he  was 
always  in  fear.  The  Oracle  had  said  that  a 
descendant  of  OEolus  would  take  his  crown 
and  throne  from  him,  and  that  this  person 
would  come  to  him  with  only  one  sandal  on. 
Pelias,  therefore,  was  always  on  the  lookout 
for  the  man  with  one  sandal. 

As  Jason  came  along  he  saw  an  old  woman 
sitting  on  the  bank  of  a  river  which  he  had  to 
cross.  She  begged  him  to  take  her  over.  The 
young  Greeks  were  taught  that  their  first  duty 


Jason  Claims  His   Throne  67 

was  to  be  helpful  and  respectful  to  old  people. 
Jason  willingly  took  the  old  woman  in  his  arms 
and  carried  her  over  as  if  she  had  been  a  child. 
She  thanked  him  and  wished  him  good  luck. 

The  current  of  the  river  was  strong  and 
rapid  and  it  swept  away  one  of  Jason's  sandals. 
He  set  the  old  woman  down  on  the  shore  after 
crossing  and  then  stood  in  doubt  as  to  whether 
he  had  better  go  back  to  look  for  his  sandal. 
The  old  woman,  however,  advised  him  to  pro- 
ceed on  his  way.  Then  she  disappeared.  This 
meeting  turned  out  to  be  of  much  greater  im- 
portance to  the  young  man  than  he  could  have 
imagined,  for  it  was  the  goddess  Hera,  the 
Queen  of  Heaven,  herself,  who  had  taken  the 
shape  of  an  old  woman  to  test  his  kindness  and 
good-breeding.  Being  pleased  with  both,  she 
remained  his  friend  and  protector. 

The  public  square  was  full  of  people  when 
Jason  arrived.  His  face  was  comely,  his  figure 
heroic,  and  his  long  hair  hung  down  to  the 
panther's  skin  on  his  shoulders.  He  carried 
two  long  spears  and  walked  like  a  king.  Every- 
body turned  in  wonder  to  gaze  at  him,  and 
some  of  them  said  to  one  another,  "  This  stran- 
ger is  no  mortal  man — he  must  be  Apollo  in 
disguise."  Others  said,  "  No,  it  is  the  God  of 
War.  Look  at  his  powerful,  athletic  frame." 


68          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

Just  at  this  moment  Pelias  came  driving  by 
on  his  chariot  drawn  by  two  fleet-footed  mules. 
His  eyes  were  also  attracted  by  the  beauty  of 
the  youthful  stranger,  but  when  he  noticed  that 
he  wore  only  one  sandal  he  trembled  with  fear. 
Pelias,  being  old  and  crafty,  concealed  his 
anxiety  and  received  his  young  kinsman  with 
cordial  friendliness  seemingly.  Jason  at  once 
announced  his  right  to  the  king's  throne,  and 
Pelias  admitted  his  claim. 

But  Pelias  told  him  that  he  was  too  young 
to  take  such  a  responsible  place,  and  suggested 
that  so  stalwart  a  youth  ought  to  do  some  val- 
iant deed  to  win  the  respect  and  admiration  of 
his  people  before  coming  into  power.  "  The 
people  would  not  care  for  thee,"  he  said,  "if 
thou  shouldst  take  the  crown  as  a  birthright 
and  not  because  of  thy  prowess." 

Then  King  Pelias  proposed,  as  a  suitable  and 
honorable  test  of  Jason's  qualities  as  hero  and 
leader,  that  he  should  cross  the  Black  Sea 
and  bring  from  Kolchis  the  golden  fleece  of 
Phrixos'  ram.  The  wily  old  man  had  judged 
Jason  at  a  glance  and  knew  that  no  words  or 
offer  of  his  could  appeal  more  powerfully  to  the 
young  hero's  generous  instincts  ;  he  also  knew 
that  the  danger  of  such  an  undertaking  would 
be  attractive  to  his  youthful  imagination.  But 


The  Expedition  69 

he  smiled  wickedly  under  his  beard  when  Ja- 
son delightedly  agreed  to  his  proposal.  Pelias 
thought  to  himself,  "  No  sane  man  would  ever 
go  on  such  an  expedition,  and  not  the  bravest 
man  could  return  alive.  He  will  never  come 
back,  and  I  shall  remain  the  King  of  lolkos." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  EXPEDITION 

JASON  cared  little  about  the  motives  of  the 
king  in  sending  him  after  the  Golden  Fleece. 
His  courage  ran  high  and  the  anticipation  of 
seeing  other  countries  and  doing  valiant  deeds 
filled  his  mind.  He  set  about  building  a  large 
ship,  the  finest  the  world  had  ever  seen,  and  to 
do  this  he  employed  Argos,  a  famous  ship- 
builder. No  expense  or  labor  was  spared,  and 
when  the  ship  was  finished  it  was  named  the 
Argo  in  honor  of  the  builder.  It  was  the  larg- 
est ship  that  had  ever  sailed  from  Greece. 

When  the  ship  was  ready  Jason  assembled 
the  noblest  heroes  of  all  Hellas,  Herakles, 
Kastor  and  Pollux,  Meleagros,  Peleus,  Ad- 
metos,  Theseus,  Orpheus  and  two  sons  of 
Boreas,  and  many  others  of  great  renown. 
Jason  invited  them  to  go  with  him  on  this  ex- 


70          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

pedition,  and  they  gladly  accepted  the  invita- 
tion. They  praised  the  ship  ;  it  was  such  a 
remarkable  piece  of  work,  and  said  that  Athena 
must  have  advised  and  helped  Argos,  for  no 
human  being  could  make  such  a  good  boat. 
Jason  was  to  be  the  captain,  and  all  those  who 
embarked  on  it  with  him  would  receive  the 
name  Argonauts,  which  means  those  who  sail 
in  the  Argo. 

Before  sailing,  the  heroes  gathered  around 
the  altar  of  Zeus,  and  Jason  offered  up  a  sacri- 
fice and  prayed  for  a  sign  of  good  luck,  if  the 
God  looked  favorably  on  their  undertaking. 
Zeus  answered  with  a  peal  of  thunder  and  a 
flash  of  lightning,  which  pleased  Jason  and 
gave  the  heroes  courage.  At  first  the  voyage 
went  so  smoothly  that  it  seemed  like  a  grand 
holiday  trip.  As  they  sailed  out  from  the 
olive-clad  plains  surrounding  lolkos,  Orpheus 
with  his  god-like  voice  and  magic  lyre  quieted 
the  wild  waves  of  the  sea,  and  inspired  the  men 
on  the  Argo  with  love  for  battle. 

In  this  way  they  sailed  along  until  they  came 
to  the  island  of  Lemnos,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived in  kindly  fashion  and  remained  a  long 
time  enjoying  the  new  scenes  and  the  festivals. 
Then  they  set  sail  again  and  came  to  a  small 
island  where  they  stayed  a  short  time.  Hera- 


The  Expedition  71 

Ides  had  broken  his  oar  and  he  wanted  to  re- 
place it.  He  left  the  ship,  taking  with  him  a 
beautiful  youth,  Hylas,  and  they  went  into  the 
woods  to  cut  down  a  tree  to  make  a  new  oar. 

But  the  wood-nymphs  saw  Hylas  and  said  to 
each  other,  "  We  will  keep  this  beautiful  youth 
to  ramble  with  us  in  the  forest,  for  he  is  gentle 
and  kind  and  would  be  an  agreeable  compan- 
ion. He  is  strong  and  will  protect  us  against 
the  rude  creatures  that  cause  us  alarm."  So 
they  carried  Hylas  away  and  hid  him,  and 
Herakles  would  not  leave  the  island  without 
him.  Then  the  Argo  sailed  on  toward  Kolchis, 
and  the  heroes  mourned  the  loss  of  their  two 
comrades. 

They  landed  again  soon  on  another  island, 
where  lived  a  king  who  was  known  to  fame  as 
a  great  boxer.  He  was  cruel  to  travellers. 
He  challenged  them  to  boxing  matches  and 
killed  them  in  the  sport.  The  Argonauts  asked 
him  to  give  them  a  supply  of  fresh  water  for 
their  ship,  and  in  return  he  asked  them  to  box 
with  him.  Pollux  accepted  the  challenge,  and 
gave  him  such  a  beating  that  his  bones  were 
broken.  Then  they  took  all  the  fresh  water 
they  needed  and  went  back  to  the  ship.  After 
this,  Pollux,  instead  of  the  cruel  and  boastful 
king,  was  known  as  the  great  boxer. 


72          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

The  Argo  sailed  on  across  the  JEgean  Sea 
and  through  the  Hellespont,  where  the  unfort- 
unate Helle  was  drowned,  and  reached  the 
straits  of  the  Bosporus.  There  were  the  im- 
mense Symplegades,  two  high  cliffs  that  were 
not  solidly  rooted  in  the  ground,  but  clashed 
together  under  the  power  of  the  winds,  making 
the  passage  through  the  sea  dangerous.  It 
seemed  impossible  for  the  Argo  to  pass  them 
without  being  crushed. 

But  they  were  saved  from  this  peril  by  the 
advice  of  Phineus,  the  blind  old  king  of  the 
district,  who  was  also  a  soothsayer.  Phineus 
had  long  suffered  a  terrible  penalty,  which  the 
gods  had  sent  on  him  for  some  unkindness,  and 
he  had  been  punished  quite  enough.  Whenever 
he  sat  down  to  a  meal  the  Harpies  pounced 
upon  his  food,  devouring  the  most  of  it  and  pol- 
luting the  rest  of  it  so  that  it  was  unspeakably 
filthy.  When  the  Argonauts  asked  him  to  di- 
rect them  past  the  Symplegades,  he  promised 
to  do  so  if  they  would  free  him  from  the  Har- 
pies. This  the  Argonauts  promised  to  do. 

They  set  a  table  before  him  laden  with  food, 
and  the  Harpies  rushed  down  with  great  cries, 
perching  on  the  table,  eating  greedily  and 
snatching  the  food  with  their  brazen  claws. 

Then  the  winged  sons  of  Boreas,  who  were 


The  Expedition  73 

with  Jason,  rose  into  the  air  and  pursued  the 
Harpies  with  swords.  The  feathers  of  the 
Harpies  flew  like  dirt  in  a  windstorm  as  they 
rushed  screaming  this  way  and  that.  They  fled 
from  that  region,  and  so  Phineus  was  rescued. 

Phineus  showed  the  Argonauts  how  to  steer 
their  ship.  He  advised  them  to  let  a  pigeon 
fly  across  the  Symplegades,  and  if  the  bird 
passed  unhurt  they  should  quickly  follow. 
When  the  Argonauts  had  come  near  the  rocks 
they  let  a  pigeon  loose  from  the  prow  of  their 
ship.  It  flew  through  between  the  cliffs,  and 
the  clashing  together  of  the  rocks  caught  only 
the  end  of  its  tail.  Watching  for  the  moment 
when  the  rocks  should  open  and  swing  away 
from  each  other,  the  Argonauts  sailed  between 
them,  rowing  with  all  their  might. 

They  called  on  Hera  for  assistance,  and  the 
goddess  bade  the  rocks  move  slowly.  The 
cliffs  did  not  have  time  to  close  together  upon 
the  ship,  and  she  got  through  safely,  except 
that  a  small  portion  of  the  rudder  was  broken 
off.  From  that  time  on  the  Symplegades  be- 
came one  rock  and  remained  firm.  After  this 
the  Argonauts  sailed  along  the  whole  coast  of 
the  Black  Sea  toward  the  east,  and  finally 
reached  Kolchis. 


74          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 
CHAPTER  XXII 

JASON  FINDS  THE   GOLDEN  FLEECE 

WHEN  the  Argonauts  had  drawn  their  ship 
up  on  the  beach,  Jason  presented  himself  before 
the  king  and  said:  "Oh,  king,  we  have  come 
to  ask  thee  for  the  Golden  Fleece,  which  be- 
longs to  the  Greeks  at  lolkos.  The  ram  which 
it  covered  was  given  to  Phrixos  and  he  dedi- 
cated it  to  Zeus ;  but  the  Fleece  he  hung  up 
in  the  garden  sacred  to  Ares.  Moreover,  the 
King  of  lolkos  has  sent  me  to  bring  it  back  to 
Hellas." 

The  king  answered :  "  Oh,  stranger,  thou  art 
welcome  to  the  Fleece.  Take  it  back  to  Hellas, 
I  pray  thee.  But  first  thou  must  yoke  two 
wild  bulls,  which  no  one  has  ever  yet  been 
able  to  manage,  to  a  plough,  and  turn  up  furrows 
in  a  field  and  sow  it  with  dragons'  teeth.  The 
bulls  snort  fire  with  every  breath  and  have 
brass  hoofs.  Beware  lest  they  turn  upon  thee 
and  burn  thee  to  death  with  the  fire  of  their 
nostrils,  and  trample  thee  into  the  earth." 

Jason  did  not  know  how  to  tame  the  terrible 
bulls,  and  began  to  ponder.  But  Medea,  the 
daughter  of  the  king,  saw  Jason  and  pitied 


Jason  Finds  the  Golden  Fleece        75 

him.  Medea  was  very  much  of  a  witch  and 
could  make  all  sorts  of  charms  and  mixtures  of 
enchantment.  She  gave  a  magic  ointment  to 
Jason  and  said :  "  Stranger,  I  would  gladly 
help  thee  to  tame  the  wild  bulls.  Take  this 
box  of  magic  ointment  and  anoint  thyself,  also 
the  end  of  thy  spear  and  thy  shield.  It  will 
make  thee  proof  against  fire  and  steel  for  one 
day,  so  that  they  cannot  harm  thee. 

"And  thou  shouldst  know  that  out  of  the 
dragons'  teeth  which  thou  art  to  sow,  men  will 
spring  up  all  clad  in  armor.  Hide  thyself 
where  these  men  cannot  see  thee,  and  when 
they  stand  close  together  throw  stones  among 
them."  Jason  took  the  drug  and  did  as  he  was 
told.  He  anointed  himself  and  his  spear  and 
shield,  and  went  in  search  of  the  fiery  bulls. 

As  soon  as  he  found  them  he  went  boldly  up 
and  hitched  them  to  a  plough.  They  breathed 
fire  at  him  and  tried  to  strike  him  with  their 
brazen  hoofs.  But  he  ploughed  the  field,  turn- 
ing back  furrow  after  furrow.  Then  he  went 
back  to  sow  the  field  with  dragons'  teeth  and 
hid  himself  nearby.  Soon  armed  giants  arose 
out  of  the  ground.  Jason  threw  a  large  stone 
into  the  midst  of  them,  which  made  them  think 
that  some  one  of  their  own  company  was  attack- 
ing the  others.  They  began  fighting  among 


76          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

themselves,  and  became  so  furious  with  one 
another  that  they  did  not  see  Jason  approach. 
He  took  his  sword  and  slew  them  all.  Then 
he  returned  to  the  king  to  receive  the  Golden 
Fleece. 

But  the  king  was  surprised,  for  he  had  no  in- 
tention of  keeping  his  promise.  He  expected 
that  Jason  would  be  slain  and  never  come  back. 
And  he  was  contriving  a  plot  to  burn  the  ship 
Argo,  and  kill  Jason's  companions. 

Jason  had  done  all  that  the  king  had  required 
of  him  and  would  not  give  up  the  idea  of  taking 
the  Fleece,  and  the  king  refused  to  let  him  have 
it.  Then  Jason  went  back  to  Medea  for  advice. 
Her  admiration  for  the  hero  was  greater  than 
ever,  since  she  had  seen  how  fearlessly  he  went 
about  his  tasks. 

She  led  him  to  the  grove  where  hung  the 
Golden  Fleece,  and  with  her  magic  drugs  put 
the  watchful  dragon  that  guarded  it  to  sleep. 
Jason  snatched  the  Fleece  and  made  for  the 
ship,  taking  Medea,  who  had  promised  to  be 
his  wife,  with  him.  When  the  old  king  missed 
his  daughter  he  was  very  angry,  and  gave  pur- 
suit. But  Jason  and  his  companions  pushed 
the  boat  out  into  the  sea,  and  unfurling  the 
sails,  they  swiftly  took  their  way  over  the 
waters  toward  their  own  land. 


Jason  Finds  the  Golden  Fleece        77 

After  many  wanderings  and  perils,  the  Ar- 
gonauts came  to  the  Greek  coast,  and  the  Argo 
entered  again  the  sea  of  their  own  beloved 
country.  They  reached  lolkos,  bringing  the 
world-famous  Golden  Fleece  with  them,  and 
the  people  received  them  in  triumph.  But 
Pelias  still  refused  to  give  up  the  throne  to 
Jason,  although  he  gladly  took  the  Golden 
Fleece  which  the  young  hero  had  brought 
him.  So  Jason  slew  him  and  made  himself 
King  of  lolkos ;  and  as  Medea's  father  had 
once  reigned  in  Corinth,  he  added  that  coun- 
try to  his  kingdom. 

Jason  lived  in  peace  ten  happy  years  in  Kol- 
chis,  and  his  kingdom  prospered;  but  a  great 
trouble  came  upon  his  household.  Medea, 
with  her  black  arts  of  witchery  and  enchant- 
ment and  her  evil  heart,  could  not  always 
please  him  or  hold  his  affections.  He  went  to 
Corinth,  where  he  met  the  gentle  -  hearted 
Kreusa,  and  her  peaceful,  kindly  disposition 
won  his  heart.  Now  in  those  days  a  man  was 
not  despised  and  looked  upon  as  a  law-breaker 
if  he  married  more  than  one  wife,  for  the  peo- 
ple had  a  different  standard  of  right  and 
wrong  from  that  of  the  present  day.  And 
Jason  in  an  unlucky  hour  took  Kreusa  for  his 
wife. 


78          Herakles,  and  other  Heroes 

Medea  was  maddened  with  jealousy  when 
she  heard  of  this,  and  she  consulted  the  evil 
spirits  of  her  witchcraft  to  find  out  how  she 
could  do  away  with  Kreusa.  She  took  a  beau- 
tiful dress  and  a  crown,  and  having  sprinkled 
them  with  an  enchanted  juice,  sent  them  to 
Kreusa.  Her  rival  accepted  the  gifts  and  put 
them  on,  but  she  could  never  get  them  off 
again.  They  clung  to  her  and  burned  into  her 
flesh,  so  that  she  died.  Then  Medea  took  fur- 
ther revenge  by  burning  Kreusa' s  home ;  and 
when  she  found  that  Jason  was  angry  with  her 
she  slew  her  children  and  fled  from  lolkos  in  a 
fiery  chariot  drawn  by  winged  serpents.  Poor 
Jason,  beside  himself  with  grief,  went  to  his 
good  ship  Argo,  which  was  now  kept  as  a 
sacred  place  for  the  worship  of  the  gods,  and 
there  he  died. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

ORPHEUS,  THE  HERO  OF  THE  LYRE 

IN  the  same  land  of  Thrace  in  which  Jason's 
family  ruled,  Orpheus,  the  greatest  musician 
of  Greece,  was  born.  It  was  said  that  his 
mother  was  the  Goddess  of  Song,  and  such  was 
the  power  of  his  voice  and  his  art  of  playing 


Orpheus,  the  Hero  of  the  Lyre       79 

on  the  lyre  that  he  could  move  stones  and 
trees.  When  the  wild  beasts  heard  his  music 
they  left  their  dens  and  lay  down  at  his  feet, 
the  birds  in  the  trees  stopped  singing,  and  the 
fishes  came  to  the  surface  of  the  sea  to  listen 
to  him. 

Orpheus  had  a  wife,  Eurydike,  celebrated 
for  her  beauty  and  virtue,  and  he  loved  her  very 
dearly.  One  day  when  Eurydike  was  gather- 
ing flowers  on  the  bank  of  a  lake  a  venomous 
snake  bit  her  foot  and  she  died.  Orpheus 
could  not  be  consoled.  He  went  off  into  the 
wildest  waste  that  he  could  find  and  there  he 
mourned  day  and  night  till  all  nature  shared 
in  his  grief.  At  last  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  down  into  Hades  and  beg  her  back  of  King 
Pluto,  for  life  was  worthless  without  her. 

Orpheus  took  his  lyre,  and  singing  as  he  went, 
found  his  way  down  to  Hades  through  a  dis- 
mal abyss.  Grim  Cerberus  himself  held  his 
breath  to  listen  to  the  marvellous  music.  Not 
one  bark  did  he  give  from  any  of  his  three  ter- 
rible heads,  and  when  Orpheus  passed  him 
he  crouched  at  his  feet.  So  Orpheus  entered 
Hades  unhindered,  and  standing  before  the 
throne  of  Pluto  and  his  pale  queen  Persephone, 
he  said  :  "  Oh,  king  and  queen,  I  have  not  come 
down  into  Hades  to  see  the  gloomy  Tartaros, 


8o         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

nor  in  order  to  carry  away  the  three-headed 
warder  of  your  kingdom,  the  dreadful  Cer- 
berus. I  came  down  to  implore  you  to  give 
me  back  my  beloved  wife,  Eurydike.  I  can- 
not bear  life  without  her.  To  me  the  world  is 
a  desert,  and  life  a  burden.  Why  should  she 
die,  so  young  arid  beautiful  ?  Have  pity  on 
me !  If  I  may  not  take  her  back,  then  I  will 
not  again  see  the  light  of  the  sun,  but  I,  too, 
will  remain  in  the  gloomy  Hades." 

Pluto  and  Persephone  listened  in  silence  to 
the  pleadings  of  Orpheus.  His  pathetic  voice 
and  the  sweet  tones  of  his  melodious  lyre  held 
them  like  a  charm.  The  shades  of  the  dead 
came  flocking  around  him  and  mourned.  Tan- 
talos  forgot  his  thirst  and  listened  to  the  sing- 
er's complaints.  Sisyphos,  who  was  compelled 
to  roll  a  stone  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  whence 
it  always  dashed  back  again  to  the  bottom, 
ceased  his  dreadful  labor  to  listen,  and  the 
Furies  themselves  first  shed  tears. 

Persephone  and  Pluto  were  pitiless  gods. 
Their  hearts  were  long  since  hardened  to  the 
cries  of  the  living  who  prayed  for  the  resto- 
ration of  their  loved  ones.  But  they  could  not 
resist  the  power  of  the  enchanting  sounds  that 
Orpheus  made.  They  called  the  spirit  of  the 
beautiful  Eurydike  to  them  and  said  to  the 


Orpheus,  the  Hero  of  the  Lyre       81 

musician :  "  Take  thy  wife  Eurydike  and  go 
up  again  to  the  light  of  the  sun.  Let  her  gaze 
on  the  smiling  sky  and  see  the  fields  of  the 
upper  world.  But  beware  of  one  thing.  Let 
her  follow  thee  and  do  not  turn  around  to  look 
at  her  before  reaching  the  world  of  the  living. 
If  thou  shouldst  turn  and  look  upon  her  she 
will  return  at  once  to  her  place  among  the 
dead." 

Orpheus  left  Hades  in  great  haste  and  Eu- 
rydike followed  him.  In  the  midst  of  deepest 
silence  they  ascended  through  dismal  rocky 
places.  They  neared  their  journey's  end. 
They  could  almost  see  the  green  earth  when 
Orpheus  was  seized  with  a  dreadful  doubt. 
"  I  hear  no  sound  whatever  behind  me,"  he 
said  to  himself.  "  Is  my  beloved  Eurydike 
really  following  me  ?  "  He  turned  his  head  a 
little.  He  saw  Eurydike,  who  followed  him 
like  a  shadow.  But  suddenly  she  began  to  be 
drawn  backward.  She  stretched  out  her  arms 
toward  Orpheus  as  if  imploring  his  help. 
Orpheus  hurried  to  take  her  in  his  arms, 
but  she  vanished  from  his  sight  and  Orpheus 
was  alone  again. 

Yet  he  did  not  despair.  Again  he  descend- 
ed into  Hades  and  reached  the  river  which 
separates  this  world  from  that  of  the  dead,  but 


82         Hcrakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

the  boatman,  Charon,  refused  to  ferry  him 
across.  Seven  days  and  seven  nights  Orpheus 
remained  there  without  drink  or  food,  weeping 
and  mourning.  The  decree  of  the  gods  was 
not  to  be  changed.  When  Orpheus  found  that 
he  could  effect  nothing  he  returned  to  the 
earth.  He  wandered  alone  over  the  moun- 
tains and  glens  of  Thrace,  which  resounded 
with  his  plaintive  songs  day  and  night. 

One  day  as  he  sat  upon  a  grassy  spot  and 
played  his  lyre  a  troop  of  wild  women  who 
were  celebrating  a  festival  rushed  upon  him 
and  tried  to  make  him  play  for  them  to  dance. 
Orpheus  indignantly  refused,  and  they  grew 
angry  and  handled  him  so  roughly  that  he 
died.  Where  he  was  buried  the  nightingales 
sang  more  sweetly  than  elsewhere.  And  his 
lyre,  which  was  thrown  into  the  sea,  was 
caught  by  the  waves,  which  made  sweet  music 
upon  it  as  they  rose  and  fell. 

Orpheus  was  honored  by  the  gods,  and  after 
his  death  they  brought  him  to  the  Abode  of 
the  Blessed,  where  he  found  his  beloved  Eu- 
rydike  and  was  reunited  to  her. 


Pelops,  the  Hero  of  the  Peloponnesos    83 
CHAPTER   XXIV 

PELOPS,    THE   HERO   OF    THE   PELOPONNESOS 

SOME  of  the  heroes  famed  in  Greek  song  and 
story,  and  whose  descendants  lived  in  Greece, 
had  come  from  foreign  countries,  many  of  them 
from  Asia  Minor.  Greece  and  Asia  Minor  had 
always  been  closely  connected.  Travellers 
from  each  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the 
other  country.  Sometimes  they  traded  to- 
gether and  sometimes  made  war  on  each  other. 

One  of  the  most  powerful  kingdoms  of  Asia 
Minor  was  Phrygia,  and  it  was  ruled  by  a  king 
of  the  name  of  Tantalos,  who  had  at  first  gov- 
erned wisely  and  in  the  fear  of  the  gods.  He 
was  made  arrogant  by  prosperity,  and  at  length 
grew  so  overbearing  and  cruel  even  to  his  own 
son,  Pelops,  that  the  gods  determined  to  make 
an  example  of  him.  They  sent  him  living  to 
Tartaros,  the  portion  of  Hades  reserved  for  the 
very  worst  offenders,  there  to  endure  a  terrible 
punishment  forever. 

He  was  placed  up  to  his  waist  in  the  midst 
of  running  water,  clear  and  cool,  under  hang- 
ing boughs  laden  with  lovely  fruit.  Yet  he 
could  not  reach  the  water  or  the  fruit,  and  was 


84          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

always  faint  with  hunger  and  thirst.  When- 
ever he  bent  down  to  get  a  drink  of  water  it 
rapidly  rushed  away  from  him,  and  if  he  lifted 
up  his  hand  to  pluck  some  of  the  ripe  fragrant 
fruit,  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  tossed  the  branches 
high  up  into  the  air.  Poor  Tantalos  never 
came  nearer  than  this  to  quenching  his  thirst 
or  satisfying  his  hunger. 

To  make  his  misery  more  unbearable,  a  huge 
block  of  rock  was  poised  above  his  head,  so 
lightly  that  it  moved  with  every  breeze,  and  he 
was  in  perpetual  fear  of  its  falling  down  on  him. 
Pelops,  the  son  whom  he  had  abused  in  child- 
hood, became  a  great  favorite  with  the  gods, 
and  they  wished  to  make  up  to  him  for  his 
father's  cruelty.  They  gave  him  a  shoulder  of 
ivory  to  replace  the  shoulder  of  which  his  father 
had  deprived  him.  When  he  grew  up  the  gods 
helped  him  to  leave  his  native  land,  where  he 
had  been  ill-treated,  and  they  guided  him  across 
the  Jigean  Sea,  and  around  the  southern  point 
of  Greece  to  Elis,  where  Herakles  had  cleaned 
out  the  stables  of  Augeias.  The  capital  of  Elis 
was  the  city  of  Pisa,  where  a  king  ruled  who 
had  a  beautiful  daughter  named  Hippodameia. 
She  must  have  been  very  fond  of  sports  and 
athletics,  for  her  name  means  "  The  Tamer  of 
Horses." 


Pclops,  the  Hero  of  the  Peloponnesos    85 

Hippodameia  had  many  suitors,  but  her 
father,  CEnomaos,  had  heard  that  he  would  be 
dethroned  by  his  daughter's  husband,  and  so 
he  did  not  wish  her  to  marry.  He  was  very 
warlike,  being  a  son  of  Ares,  the  God  of  War, 
and  he  determined  to  kill  all  the  suitors.  So 
he  proposed  a  chariot  race  with  each  of  the 
wooers,  and  promised  that  the  one  who  suc- 
ceeded in  winning  the  race  should  have  his 
daughter  in  marriage  ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  the 
suitor  lost  the  race  he  should  be  put  to  death 
by  the  king. 

CEnomaos  was  a  famous  charioteer,  and  he 
had  steeds  which  were  swifter  than  the  wind. 
The  race-course  began  at  Pisa,  and  stretched  as 
far  as  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  to  the  altar  of 
Poseidon.  CEnomaos  believed  in  himself  and 
in  his  own  skill.  So  great  was  his  self-reliance, 
and  so  sure  was  he  of  the  swiftness  of  his  horses, 
that  whenever  a  suitor  came  along  he  let  him 
go  ahead  with  his  chariot  drawn  by  four  horses, 
while  he  himself  first  sacrificed  a  ram  to  Zeus, 
and  only  at  the  end  of  the  ceremony  mounted 
his  chariot,  having  as  driver,  Myrtilos,  and  be- 
ing armed  with  a  strong  spear.  Then  he  would 
overtake  the  suitor  and  kill  him.  Thus  he  had 
already  killed  a  great  many. 

Pelops,  on   his   arrival   at  Pisa,  saw  Hippo- 


86         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

dameia,  and  at  once  had  a  strong  desire  to  make 
her  his  wife.  When  he  saw  that  he  could  not 
conquer  GEnomaos  by  fair  means  he  planned  a 
trick.  He  secretly  approached  the  king's  char- 
ioteer, Myrtilos,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Myrtilos, 
hear  what  I  have  to  say  to  thee.  Help  me  to 
win  the  race  and  I  will  give  thee  half  the  king- 
dom when  I  become  King  of  Pisa." 

Hippodameia,  too,  who  greatly  admired  the 
young  man,  advised  the  charioteer  to  lend  them 
his  aid.  Myrtilos  accepted  the  proposal  of 
Pelops.  On  the  day  of  the  race  CEnomaos 
again  waited  to  sacrifice  a  ram  to  Zeus,  leaving 
Pelops  to  drive  on  ahead,  and  only  mounted 
his  chariot  after  the  offering  was  over,  being 
sure  that  he  should  overtake  the  suitor  as  he 
had  done  with  the  others. 

But  suddenly  a  wheel  flew  off  from  the  king's 
chariot,  and  CEnomaos  fell  to  the  ground,  hurt- 
ing himself  badly.  Myrtilos  had  removed  the 
pin  which  held  the  wheel  on  to  the  axle.  Thus 
Pelops  reached  the  Isthmus  before  the  king 
and  won  the  race. 

CEnomaos  died  of  his  injuries,  and  Pelops 
married  Hippodameia,  and  took  possession  of 
the  kingdom.  Then  Myrtilos  demanded  half 
the  kingdom  as  it  had  been  promised  him  by 
Pelops.  But  Pelops  carried  him  to  the  sea  and 


Perseus,  the  Hero  of  Argos          87 

cast  him  into  it.  On  account  of  this  crime  the 
descendants  of  Pelops,  the  Pelopides,  had  to 
suffer  many  misfortunes.  Crime  and  craft  may 
answer  an  immediate  purpose,  but  they  are  fol- 
lowed by  divine  wrath. 

Pelops  instituted  the  famous  Olympic  games, 
which  were  celebrated  every  fourth  year,  and 
lasted  five  days.  And  he  did  many  other  things 
which  were  of  great  use  to  his  people.  In 
honor  of  Pelops,  the  great  peninsula,  south  of 
the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  was  called  Pelopon- 
nesos,  which  means  Pelops'  Island.  The  name 
was  not  quite  correct  at  the  time,  for  the  land 
was  not  an  island  but  a  peninsula.  But  after 
all  these  thousands  of  years  it  has  curiously 
come  to  pass  that  the  old  name  is  a  true  one, 
for  it  was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  Isth- 
mus of  Corinth  was  cut  in  two,  and  the  Pel- 
oponnesos  was  in  truth  made  an  island. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

PERSEUS,  THE  HERO  OF  ARGOS 

LESS  than  sixty  miles  in  a  straight  line  to  the 
southwest  of  Athens  there  is  a  barren,  swampy 
plain.  It  is  in  the  Peloponnesos  and  is  bounded 
on  all  sides  by  mountains  except  to  the  south, 


88          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

where  it  is  bounded  by  the  sea.  In  this  plain 
lies  the  market-town,  Argos,  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty 
hill,  its  acropolis,  Larisa.  There  is  a  citadel  on 
this  acropolis  which  looks  off  to  a  high  moun- 
tain at  the  north  near  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
and  the  white-streaked  hills  beyond.  And 
nearer  to  the  citadel,  on  the  north,  is  a  higher 
mountain,  the  highest  of  the  Peloponnesos, 
where  the  people  used  to  pray  to  Zeus  and  Hera 
for  rain.  To  the  southeast  the  Larisa  looks 
over  a  great  prison  on  a  fortified  mountain. 

We  have  said  that  the  Peloponnesos  was  the 
shape  of  a  man's  hand.  The  thumb  of  this  hand 
is  a  peninsula  pointing  toward  the  east  and 
south.  In  more  ancient  times  this  thumb  was 
called  the  peninsula  of  Argos.  The  town,  Argos, 
shares  its  name  with  the  barren  plain  in  which 
it  is  situated,  and  in  olden  times  it  shared  it  with 
the  peninsula  also.  The  peninsula  of  Argos 
was  quite  separate  from  a  larger  district,  called 
Argolis,  until  the  Romans  conquered  Greece. 
But  now  it  is  one  with  the  entire  district,  and 
Argos  the  town,  and  Argos  the  plain,  and 
Argos  the  peninsula,  are  all  in  Argolis. 

Hera,  wife  of  Zeus  and  goddess  of  the 
heavens,  was  the  patron  deity  of  Argos.  It  is 
said  that  she  had  a  contest  with  Poseidon  to  see 
which  should  name  the  land,  and  as  she  brought 


Perseus,  the  Hero  of  Argos          89 

the  most  valuable  gift,  the  honor  fell  to  her.  The 
river  Inachos  flows  through  Argos  the  plain. 
The  first  king  of  Argos  was  a  son  of  the  river- 
god,  Inachos,  and  the  ocean-nymph,  Melia,  was 
his  mother. 

The  earliest  people  of  Argos  must  have 
worked  hard  to  keep  the  country  rightly  irri- 
gated. They  were  called  Danaae,  doubtless 
because  their  work  resembled  that  of  the 
Dana'ids,  who  were  said  to  be  punished  in  the 
lower  world  by  carrying  water  in  pitchers  to 
fill  a  broken  cistern.  As  fast  as  they  poured 
water  in  the  cistern  it  ran  out  through  the 
cracks  at  the  bottom.  So,  too,  the  Danaae  car- 
ried water  to  the  sandy  soil,  but  it  ran  into  the 
earth  without  doing  very  much  good. 

The  Danaas  came  from  Egypt  and  were  ac- 
customed to  farming  in  the  sand.  They  knew 
the  unsparing  pains  that  must  be  taken  to  con- 
quer it,  and  kept  at  work  until  the  land  became 
fertile  enough  to  repay  them.  But  in  modern 
times  the  plain  has  lost  its  fertility  because  the 
farmers  do  not  take  the  same  trouble  in  culti- 
vating the  soil. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  Argive  kings, 
Danaos,  sent  his  daughters  out  to  search  for 
springs  as  he  would  have  sent  them  to  bring 
water  from  the  Nile  if  they  had  remained  in 


90         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

Egypt.  Poseidon,  seeing  how  fair  one  of  them 
was,  loved  her  and  caused  a  spring  to  flow  at 
Lerna,  and  it  is  called  by  her  own  name,  Amyone, 
to  the  present  time.  It  was  this  spring  that 
created  the  marsh  where  the  terrible  Hydra 
was  slain  by  Herakles. 

Danaos  had  many  descendants,  one  after 
another  succeeding  him  as  king.  The  fifth  suc- 
cessor was  Akrisios  and  he  had  a  daughter, 
Danae.  Some  oracle  had  told  him  that  he 
would  be  slain  by  a  son  of  Danae  if  she  ever 
had  one.  This  worried  the  king  and  he  deter- 
mined that  she  should  never  marry.  He  built 
a  high  tower  of  brass  and  shut  her  up  in  it  so 
that  no  one  could  get  to  her. 

Danae  grew  very  lonely,  shut  up  in  the  tower, 
and  she  used  to  watch  from  the  window  to  try 
to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  people  below.  No  one 
looked  up  to  notice  her,  but  Zeus  saw  her  from 
his  abode  in  the  heavens  and  was  struck  with 
her  beauty  and  loneliness.  He  sent  a  golden 
shower  of  sunbeams  to  console  her  in  her  prison, 
and  a  little  babe  was  born  to  her,  and  she  called 
him  Perseus,  the  son  of  Light. 

Akrisios,  the  king,  heard  the  child's  voice 
and  called  his  daughter  to  a  holy  sanctuary  and 
bade  her  tell  the  truth  about  the  babe.  This 
she  did,  but  the  king  would  not  believe  her. 


Perseus,  the  Hero  of  Argos          91 

He  put  her  into  a  box  and  the  child  with  her 
and  cast  the  box  into  the  sea  to  sink  or  float. 
The  box  did  float  and  the  kind  waves  carried  it 
to  the  island  of  Seriphos.  A  good  old  fisher- 
man caught  it  in  a  net  and  took  it  to  his  own 
little  hut,  and  thus  Danae  and  her  babe  were 
saved. 

Perseus  grew  up  to  be  a  strong,  handsome  lad, 
and  was  often  seen  with  his  beautiful  mother 
wandering  over  the  island.  As  Perseus  grew 
older  he  became  his  mother's  protector  and 
champion  and  could  never  do  enough  for  her. 
They  continued  to  live  at  the  cottage  of  the 
fisherman,  who  had  adopted  them  as  members 
of  his  own  family. 

The  fisherman  had  a  brother,  Polydektes, 
who  was  king  of  the  island,  and  he  was  as 
proud  and  cruel  as  the  fisherman  was  simple 
and  kind.  Polydektes  saw  the  beautiful  Danae 
and  resolved  to  add  her  to  his  possessions  and 
make  her  subject  to  his  whims.  He  feared 
Perseus,  however,  and  studied  how  to  get  him 
out  of  the  way.  So  he  called  his  friends  to- 
gether, among  them  Perseus,  and  said  that  he 
was  looking  for  quaint  gifts  to  send  to  the  wed- 
ding of  Hippodameia,  the  daughter  of  CEno- 
maos. 

All  the  young  men  came  to  the  court  of  the 


92          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

king  and  listened  to  his  request,  and  each  one 
promised  to  go  on  some  quest  and  find  a  pres- 
ent worthy  of  the  princess.  Perseus  wanted 
to  outdo  all  the  others,  and  said  he  would 
bring  the  head  of  Medusa  if  the  king  desired 
it.  Polydektes  took  him  at  his  word  and 
ordered  him  to  go  for  it  at  once. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

PERSEUS   FINDS   THE   GORGONS 

MEDUSA  was  the  youngest  of  three  sisters 
known  as  the  Gorgons,  who  lived  somewhere 
in  the  far  west  by  the  ocean.  She  was  the  fair- 
est of  the  three  and  in  her  youth  had  been  a 
famous  beauty.  But  having  insulted  Athena 
in  her  holy  temple,  that  goddess  punished  her 
by  spoiling  her  beauty  in  a  most  ghastly  way. 
She  changed  her  beautiful  locks  into  living 
snakes.  A  great  horror  settled  on  the  face  of 
the  poor  girl,  and  it  became  so  terrible  in  its 
look  of  agony,  with  its  frightful  frame  of 
snakes,  that  no  one  could  bear  the  sight.  Who- 
ever looked  at  her  turned  to  stone. 

Perseus  set  forth  to  find  Medusa  with  the 
courage  of  a  youth  who  has  never  known  de- 
feat. The  goddess,  Athena,  who  particularly 


Perseus  Finds  the  G organs  93 

despised  the  Gorgon,  lent  him  her  aid.  She 
advised  him  to  go  to  three  aged  women,  who 
lived  in  a  dark  cavern  near  the  entrance  to  the 
infernal  regions.  They  were  old  women  from 
their  birth,  gray-haired,  misshapen,  and  had 
but  one  eye  and  a  single  tooth  for  the  three. 
These  they  exchanged,  each  taking  a  turn  at 
using  the  tooth  and  eye,  while  the  other  two 
sat  toothless  and  blind. 

Perseus  approached  them  quietly,  for  they 
were  easily  alarmed  and  always  on  the  lookout 
for  something  to  dread.  As  they  were  passing 
the  eye  from  one  to  the  other,  Perseus  seized 
it,  and  they  pleaded  piteously  for  him  to  re- 
store it.  This  Perseus  refused  to  do  until  they 
should  tell  him  the  way  to  the  home  of  the 
nymphs  who  took  care  of  the  invisible  helmet 
of  Hades  and  the  winged  shoes  of  Hermes, 
messenger  of  the  gods.  The  three  miserable 
old  women  were  glad  to  get  back  their  eye  and 
tooth,  although  they  were  loath  to  give  Perseus 
the  information  he  wanted.  But  they  told  him 
the  way  to  find  the  home  of  the  nymphs,  and 
he  went  on  with  a  happier  heart. 

Perseus  received  the  winged  sandals  from 
the  nymphs  and  bound  them  to  his  own  feet. 
They  gave  him  a  mantle,  too,  which  he  threw 
over  his  shoulders.  It  made  him  invisible,  just 


94         Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

as  the  darkness  of  night  hides  everything  from 
human  eyes.  They  put  the  helmet  of  Hades 
on  his  head.  Whoever  wore  this  helmet  could 
see  others,  but  no  one  could  see  him.  More- 
over, Hermes  gave  him  a  two-edged  sword 
and  Athena  gave  him  a  shield  of  brass,  which 
was  polished  on  the  inside  until  it  glittered  like 
a  mirror  and  reflected  the  image  of  everything 
back  of  the  person  using  it. 

Perseus,  being  thus  armed,  went  flying  tow- 
ard the  ocean  and  found  the  Gorgons  lying  on 
the  shore.  There  were  three  of  them  and  they 
were  sisters.  Medusa  alone  was  immortal.  The 
other  Gorgons,  as  well  as  Medusa,  had  snakes 
on  their  heads  instead  of  hair,  and  large  teeth 
like  wild  beasts,  and  iron  hands  with  golden 
nails.  Athena  had  taught  Perseus  how  to  ap- 
proach them  without  being  the  victim  of  Me- 
dusa's deadly  stare.  Instead  of  facing  her,  he 
kept  his  face  turned  toward  his  shield  and 
looked  at  her  image  only. 

In  this  way,  guarded  by  his  cloak  and  helmet 
of  invisibility,  he  came  close  to  Medusa,  and 
with  one  blow  from  his  two-edged  sword  cut 
off  the  monster's  head.  As  the  blood  flowed 
down  over  the  sand,  there  sprang  from  it  a 
beautiful  white -winged  horse.  Perseus  had 
brought  a  large  pouch  which  the  nymphs  had 


Perseus  Rescues  Andromeda          95 

given  him  ;  a  magic  pocket  that  could  be  dis- 
tended to  almost  any  size.  He  hurried  the 
head  into  the  pouch  without  looking  at  it  and 
flew  away  as  fast  as  his  winged  sandals  would 
carry  him  ;  the  other  Gorgons  followed  him  in 
vain,  for  he  was  invisible  to  them. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

PERSEUS   RESCUES   ANDROMEDA 

ON  his  way  back  to  the  island  of  Seriphos, 
Perseus  met  with  many  adventures.  He  visit- 
ed Atlas,  expecting  the  hospitality  which  the 
Greeks  consider  due  to  all  strangers.  But 
Atlas  did  not  receive  him  with  courtesy,  and 
Perseus  in  return  held  up  the  Gorgon's  head 
for  Atlas  to  gaze  at.  Atlas  was  turned  into  a 
rocky  mountain,  and  there  he  stands  and  always 
will  stand  with  the  firmament  resting  on  his 
head. 

In  his  flight  Perseus  reached  ^Etheopia,  where 
King  Kepheus  reigned.  There  he  saw  an  im- 
mense rock  on  the  coast  and  a  charming  maiden 
was  chained  to  the  rock.  Perseus  approached 
her  in  pity  and  said,  "  Tell  me,  oh  maiden,  why 
thou  art  bound  to  this  rock !  What  is  thy  name 
and  which  is  thy  country  ?  "  "  I  am  a  princess, 


96          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

the  daughter  of  King  Kepheus,"  answered  the 
girl,  "  and  my  name  is  Andromeda.  My  mother 
praised  my  beauty  above  that  of  the  daughters 
of  Nereus,  displeasing  the  nymphs  themselves 
and  offending  the  god. 

The  Nereids  complained  to  Poseidon,  and 
in  his  wrath  he  sent  a  sea-monster  on  shore  to 
destroy  the  people  and  their  flocks  and  herds 
and  devastate  the  country.  The  king,  my 
father,  inquired  of  the  Oracle  how  the  country 
might  be  freed  from  this  calamity.  The  Oracle 
made  reply  that  the  country  would  be  de- 
livered if  the  king  would  give  up  his  own 
daughter  to  be  devoured  by  the  monster. 
When  the  people  of  ^Etheopia  heard  of  the 
answer  of  the  Oracle  they  forced  my  father  to 
accede  to  the  terms.  They  themselves  chained 
me  to  this  rock,  and  every  moment  I  expect  the 
monster  to  come  and  tear  me  to  pieces." 

No  sooner  had  Andromeda  finished  her  tale 
than  the  monster  appeared  in  the  distance. 
Her  father  and  mother  saw  him  too  and  wept 
in  despair.  Crying  out  to  their  beloved  child, 
with  extended  hands  they  bewailed  her  fate. 

"A  truce  to  tears!"  cried  Perseus.  "The 
brave  man  sheds  no  tears  in  the  face  of  danger! 
He  wastes  no  words  but  dares !  Shall  Perseus, 
the  son  of  Zeus  and  Danae,  having  slain  Me- 


Perseus  Rescues  Andromeda,         97 

dusa,  quail  before  a  sea-serpent?  I  will  save 
thy  daughter,  but  them  must  give  her  to  me  to 
be  my  wife!" 

"  Thou  shalt  have  our  daughter  for  thy  wife 
and  our  kingdom  as  well,"  cried  the  king,  "  if 
thou  wilt  save  her !  " 

The  waves  rose  higher  and  higher  around 
the  cliff  and  the  sea-monster  came  roaring  and 
hissing,  with  open  jaws  showing  his  savage 
teeth,  his  neck  outstretched,  and  his  head  reared 
high  above  the  breakers.  Over  the  waves  rose 
his  tremendous  back  covered  with  thick,  heavy 
scales,  and  he  lashed  the  waters  to  a  foam  with 
his  coiling  tail. 

Then  Perseus,  with  the  aid  of  his  winged 
sandals,  rose  up  into  the  air  and  attacked  the 
monster  from  above.  The  beast  plunged  this 
way  and  that,  leaping  up  and  striking  at  Per- 
seus with  his  fangs,  diving  again  into  the  water 
and  springing  out,  bellowing  in  a  frightful 
manner. 

Time  after  time  Perseus  thrust  his  sword 
into  the  monster,  until  a  stream  of  black  blood 
ran  from  its  throat,  and  it  grew  motionless  and 
died.  Perseus  quickly  flew  to  Andromeda  and 
took  off  the  chains  that  bound  her,  and  she 
sprang  into  her  father's  arms  with  a  cry  of  joy. 
The  king  and  queen  threw  their  arms  around 


98          Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

their  beloved  daughter  and  covered  her  with 
kisses,  and  they  clasped  the  hand  of  Perseus 
with  gratitude  which  they  could  not  express. 

Then  they  returned  to  the  grand  castle  of 
Kepheus,  promising  to  celebrate  the  nuptials  of 
Perseus  and  Andromeda.  The  wedding  took 
place  amidst  great  pomp  and  splendor,  but 
while  they  were  in  the  midst  of  their  festivities 
the  din  of  arms  and  battle-cries  resounded 
through  the  hall.  Phineus,  the  brother  of  the 
king,  had  come  with  a  crowd  of  warriors  to 
steal  the  bride.  For  Andromeda,  before  her 
misfortunes,  had  been  promised  to  him  in  mar- 
riage, but  in  the  hour  of  danger  he  had  left  her 
to  her  fate,  a  prey  to  the  sea-monster. 

Now  that  she  was  safe  again  and  in  favor, 
Phineus  had  come  to  claim  her.  He  said  petu- 
lantly to  Perseus,  "  Andromeda  belongs  to  me. 
I  come  to  get  her.  Neither  thy  winged  sandals 
nor  thy  father  Zeus  shall  save  thee  from  my 
wrath.  Thou  art  a  robber  trying  to  take  my 
bride  from  me." 

Then  the  king  answered  him  angrily.  "  Phin- 
eus," he  said,  "  thou  art  a  boastful  coward. 
In  no  way  does  Perseus  rob  thee  of  Androm- 
eda. Thou  hast  lost  her  through  thine  own 
fault,  for  when  she  was  in  peril  thou  didst 
desert  her  like  a  coward,  and  she  would  have 


Perseus  Rescues  Andromeda          99 

been  devoured  by  the  sea-monster  before  now 
if  this  noble  youth  had  not  saved  her.  My 
daughter  shall  wed  the  man  who  has  saved  her 
from  a  terrible  death." 

But  Phineus  would  not  yield.  Wishing  to 
kill  Perseus,  he  shot  an  arrow  at  him.  At  the 
same  time  he  ordered  his  band  of  followers  to 
rush  upon  him.  The  arrow  did  not  hit  Perseus, 
who  fought  single-handed  against  them  all,  but 
as  soon  as  he  struck  down  one  foe  a  new  one 
sprang  up  in  his  place.  Perseus  saw  that  he 
could  keep  on  fighting  for  all  time,  and  never 
conquer  this  army,  which  could  furnish  a  new 
warrior  as  often  as  one  was  slain.  Having 
thus  fought  alone  against  great  numbers  until 
he  saw  it  was  hopeless,  Perseus  took  the  head 
of  Medusa  out  of  the  pouch  where  he  had  kept 
it  and  held  it  up  for  Phineus  and  his  warriors 
to  gaze  upon.  Instantly  everyone  of  them 
was  changed  to  stone,  and  Perseus,  taking  his 
bride,  returned  to  the  island  of  Seriphos. 


ioo       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 
CHAPTER  XXVIII 

PERSEUS   BECOMES  KING  OF  TIRYNS 

WHEN  Perseus  reached  home  he  did  not  find 
the  glad  welcome  to  which  he  had  looked  for- 
ward with  all  the  ardor  of  a  youth  who  has 
been  for  the  first  time  on  an  important  errand. 
His  mother  had  taken  refuge  in  a  temple  at 
the  altar  of  Zeus  to  escape  the  persecutions  of 
King  Polydektes,  who  had  begun  to  ill-treat  her 
as  soon  as  Perseus  had  departed  in  search  of 
Medusa.  His  brother,  the  fisherman,  had  tried 
to  protect  her  and  had  used  hot  words  in 
warning  the  king  to  desist  from  his  unmanly 
purpose.  But  Polydektes  turned  his  wrath 
upon  his  brother  also,  and  he,  too,  could  find  no 
refuge  save  the  sacred  altars. 

Perseus  went  at  once  to  the  king  and  an- 
nounced his  arrival.  The  king  was  uneasy, 
and  yet  he  did  not  believe  that  Perseus  had 
been  able  to  keep  his  word.  He  called  all  the 
nobles  of  his  court  together  to  listen  to  what 
Perseus  had  to  say.  Perseus  came  before 
them,  and  taking  the  fearful  head  from  its  cov- 
ering, held  it  up  for  them  to  look  at.  At  once 
they  became  stone  images,  a  ghastly  court  of 


Perseus  Becomes  King  of  Tiryns    101 

petrified  men.  Even  the  frogs  and  beetles  and 
other  animals  in  the  castle  and  its  grounds 
were  turned  to  stone. 

Then  Perseus  flew  to  his  mother,  who  was 
still  a  beautiful  woman  in  spite  of  all  her  sor- 
rows. She  had  long  prayed  for  her  son's  re- 
turn, almost  without  hope,  and  now  that  he 
had  really  come  her  joy  was  boundless.  Per- 
seus established  the  fisherman  as  king  of  the 
island  in  his  brother's  place,  and  the  people 
rejoiced  that  they  had  been  freed  from  the 
tyrant,  Polydektes. 

Perseus  now  gave  up  his  winged  sandals  to 
Hermes,  and  asked  him  to  carry  the  helmet 
and  mantle  to  the  nymphs,  but  the  head  of 
Medusa  he  gave  to  Athena,  who  wore  it  on 
her  shield  ever  after. 

Perseus  could  not  remain  idle  at  Seriphos. 
He  set  out  for  Argos  to  visit  his  grandfather, 
taking  his  mother  and  Andromeda.  Akrisios, 
suspecting  that  he  would  come,  for  the  words 
of  the  Oracle  often  came  to  his  mind,  had  gone 
to  Thessaly.  There  at  Larissa  he  had  built  a 
home  and  established  himself,  hoping  that  his 
grandson  would  be  contented  to  remain  in 
Argos. 

But  Perseus  went  on  until  he  came  to  Thes- 
saly, and  finding  some  games  going  on  he  took 


iO2       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

part  in  them.  He  threw  a  discus  which  acci- 
dentally struck  his  grandfather's  foot,  giving 
him  a  painful  wound  which  could  not  be  cured. 
Thus  the  Oracle  was  fulfilled.  Learning  whom 
he  had  killed  and  that  Akrisios  had  died  ac- 
cording to  an  old  prophecy,  he  mourned  for  him 
and  buried  him  with  honors  outside  of  the  city. 

Perseus  then  returned  to  Argos,  where  he  had 
left  his  wife  and  mother,  and  he  became  king 
of  the  country  in  the  place  of  his  grandfather, 
Akrisios.  But  the  thought  of  sitting  on  a 
throne  whose  rightful  king  he  had  accidentally 
killed  was  distasteful  to  him,  so  he  exchanged 
kingdoms  with  Megapenthes  of  Tiryns. 

It  is  said  that  the  Persian  kings  claimed  to 
be  descendants  from  Parses,  a  son  of  Perseus 
and  Andromeda.  However  this  may  be,  Per- 
seus has  certainly  inspired  many  a  poet  and 
artist  and  hero  to  express  great  actions  and 
courage  in  word  and  deed. 


Triptolemos  and  Demeter  103 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

TRIPTOLEMOS,     THE     HERO     OF     ELEUSIS,     AND 
DEMETER,   THE    EARTH-MOTHER 

TWELVE  miles  to  the  west  of  Athens  is  a 
beautiful  hill  which  ends  abruptly  close  to  the 
sea.  It  is  the  acropolis  or  highest  point  of 
Eleusis  and  is  covered  with  splendid  blocks  of 
marble,  the  ruins  of  wonderful  temples  which 
stood  there  in  ancient  times.  The  greatest  of 
these  temples  was  called  The  Temple  of  the 
Mysteries.  Demeter,  the  Earth-Mother,  was 
worshipped  there. 

The  principal  road  leading  to  the  acropolis 
of  Eleusis  begins  at  the  acropolis  at  Athens 
and  is  called  The  Sacred  Way.  Over  this 
road,  thousands  of  years  ago,  went  the  stately 
processions  of  loose-robed  Greeks,  their  beau- 
tiful garments  fluttering  in  the  winds.  Their 
heavy  chariot-wheels  left  deep  prints  in  the 
rocks,  and  there  they  are  at  the  present  time. 
There  are  ruins  of  temples  to  the  gods  along 
The  Sacred  Way,  and  the  little  lambs  and  kids 
skip  playfully  about  among  them. 

A  narrow  pass  between  the  hills  admits  you 
into  a  flowery  meadow.  It  was  here  that  Per- 


IO4        Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

sephone  played  when  a  child.  There  are  two 
salt  lakes  in  the  plain  in  which  only  priests 
were  allowed  to  fish  in  the  olden  times.  There, 
too,  is  a  well  where  you  stop  for  a  cup  of  water 
as  people  have  done  through  the  long  ages. 

The  plain  of  Eleusis  is  separated  from  Attica 
by  a  range  of  low  hills  clad  with  fields  of  wheat 
and  barley.  At  the  foot  of  the  acropolis  is  the 
sickly  little  village  of  Eleusis,  but  the  Island 
of  Salamis  rises  across  the  blue  waters  of  the 
bay  like  a  fairyland  shining  through  a  delicate 
atmosphere  of  violet  tint.  This  was  the  king- 
dom of  Keleos  and  his  son  Triptolemos,  the 
Hero  of  Agriculture,  and  it  was  the  scene  of 
the  story  of  Demeter  and  Persephone,  the 
story  which  brings  us  to  the  Hero  of  Eleusis. 

It  is  said  that  Kronos  and  Rhea  were  the 
father  and  mother  of  the  greatest  of  the  gods, 
Zeus,  Poseidon,  and  Hades  or  (Pluto)  and  their 
sister  Demeter,  the  mother  of  fertility.  Though 
men  might  plough  the  fields  and  the  rain  mois- 
ten the  swelling  seed-grains,  it  was  Demeter 
who  gave  the  vital  touch  which  caused  the 
new  life  to  spring  up. 

Demeter  had  one  beloved  daughter,  Per- 
sephone, on  whom  she  bestowed  all  the  tender- 
ness of  her  divine  mother-heart.  One  day 
Persephone  went  out  into  the  blooming  mead- 


Triptolemos  and  Demeter          105 

ows  to  play  with  her  companions.  The  fields 
were  gay  with  roses,  violets,  and  lilies.  The 
yellow  crocus,  the  asphodel,  and  the  purple  and 
pink  narcissus  made  bank  and  by-path  seem 
like  a  soft  carpet  and  filled  the  air  with  sweet 
fragrance. 

Persephone  stooped  to  pluck  a  flower  of  un- 
usual beauty,  when  the  earth  suddenly  opened 
and  Hades  appeared  with  a  splendid  chariot 
drawn  by  fiery  black  horses.  He  seized  Per- 
sephone, and  placing  her  on  his  chariot,  drove 
away  to  his  kingdom  under  the  earth.  Per- 
sephone uttered  piercing  cries,  praying  to  the 
gods  and  imploring  men  to  come  to  her  rescue. 
But  all  in  vain.  Zeus  looked  on  with  approval, 
for  he  knew  that  his  good  brother  ought  not 
to  be  condemned  to  reign  alone  in  the  dread 
realms  of  darkness. 

Now  there  was  a  goddess  of  the  night,  a 
torch-bearer  who  lived  in  a  dark  cave.  Her 
name  was  Hekate  and  she  knew  the  secrets  of 
lonely  forests  and  cross-roads  and  the  gloomy 
underground  world.  She  heard  the  shrieks  of 
the  maiden  when  Hades  seized  her ;  and  He- 
lios, too,  the  sun-god  who  sees  everything,  saw 
him  bear  her  away. 

The  mother,  Demeter,  also,  heard  the  cries 
of  her  daughter,  and  an  unspeakable  grief 


io6        Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

took  possession  of  her.  She  wandered  from 
place  to  place,  taking  neither  food  nor  sleep, 
beseeching  everyone  to  tell  her  where  she 
could  find  her  child.  But  no  one  could  give 
her  any  information.  She  yoked  her  winged 
snakes  to  her  car  and  drove  with  lighted  torch 
through  every  country.  Wherever  she  went 
she  was  received  gladly  by  the  people,  for  she 
stopped  to  teach  them  something  of  agricult- 
ure and  left  her  blessing  with  them  when  she 
departed. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

DEMETER'S  GRIEF 

ON  the  tenth  day  of  her  wanderings  she  met 
Hekate,  who  said  :  "  Lovable  Demeter,  who 
hath  robbed  thee  of  thy  daughter  and  plunged 
thee  into  sorrow  ?  I  heard  her  cries  when  she 
was  carried  off,  but  I  could  not  see  who  it  was 
that  took  her.  There  is  one,  however,  who 
sees  everything,  Helios,  and  he  may  tell  thee 
where  thy  daughter  is  concealed." 

Demeter  gladly  took  the  hint,  and  with  Hek- 
ate she  set  out  to  find  Helios,  and  when  they 
saw  his  horses  and  chariot  they  stationed  them- 
selves where  they  could  speak  to  him.  The 


Demeters  Grief  107 

venerable  goddess  said  to  him :  "  If  ever,  oh, 
Helios,  I  have  pleased  thee  in  word  or  deed,  I 
pray  thee  look  down  from  the  heavens  and  tell 
me  truly  whether  it  is  a  god  or  a  mortal  that 
hath  stolen  my  daughter." 

"  Honored  Queen,"  replied  Helios,  "  I  will- 
ingly tell  thee  all  I  know.  Hades  hath  taken 
thy  daughter  and  led  her  into  the  gloomy 
kingdom  below.  But  Zeus  is  the  author  of 
this  deed,  for  he  gave  his  permission  to  Hades 
to  make  Persephone  his  wife.  Yet  thou  hast 
no  need  to  grieve,  for  Hades  is  a  loving  hus- 
band and  hath  given  thy  daughter  an  honor- 
able place  as  queen  of  his  realm." 

When  Demeter  heard  this  her  grief  was 
unbounded  and  her  anger  terrible.  She  left 
the  abode  of  the  gods  on  Mount  Olympos  and 
went  down  to  earth,  where  she  assumed  the 
form  of  a  mortal  woman.  In  her  travels  on  the 
earth  she  reached  Eleusis,  and  sat  down  on  a 
stone  near  a  spring,  from  which  the  people 
drew  water. 

As  she  sat  there  two  beautiful  maidens, 
daughters  of  Keleos,  the  King  of  Eleusis,  came 
to  the  spring  to  fill  their  bronze  pitchers  with 
water.  They  saw  the  stately  woman  in  gar- 
ments of  mourning,  and,  approaching  her,  asked 
with  sympathy  whence  she  came  and  why  she 


io8        Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

sat  alone  so  far  from  the  city  instead  of  coming 
to  the  houses,  where  the  women  would  gladly 
show  her  every  kindness  in  word  and  deed. 

Demeter  replied  :  "  May  the  Olympian  gods 
bestow  all  good  gifts  upon  you,  my  daughters. 
Have  pity  on  me  and  lead  me  to  the  house  of 
some  chief,  where  I  may  be  a  servant,  doing 
such  work  as  an  old  woman  can  perform.  I  can 
take  care  of  a  new-born  babe,  guard  the  house, 
tend  the  beds,  and  teach  serving-women  house- 
work." 

"  Venerable  lady,"  answered  one  of  the 
daughters,  "  I  thank  thee  for  thy  good  wishes, 
and  I  will  tell  thee  the  names  of  the  foremost 
men  of  the  city.  There  are  several  chiefs  of 
note  in  Eleusis,  but  our  father  is  the  king  and 
he  will  give  thee  royal  welcome.  Let  us  take 
thee  to  our  mother,  Metaneira,  and  she  will 
not  let  thee  go  into  a  strange  house.  She  has 
a  little  son,  and  if  thou  wilt  bring  him  up  well 
she  will  give  thee  rich  gifts." 

Demeter  consented  to  go,  and  the  girls,  after 
filling  their  jugs,  hastened  home,  where  they 
told  the  queen,  their  mother,  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard.  The  beautiful  Metaneira  sent 
them  to  call  in  the  aged  woman,  and  they  ran 
back  to  the  spot  where  they  had  left  her. 
They  took  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her  to 


Demeter' s  Grief  109 

their  home,  where  they  presented  her  to  their 
mother. 

Metaneira  had  her  baby  in  her  arms  and 
received  Demeter  kindly.  "  Welcome,  my 
dear  woman,"  she  said,  "  thou  hast  come  in 
good  time.  But  I  cannot  treat  thee  as  a  ser- 
vant, for  thou  dost  appear  like  a  princess. 

"  The  gods  often  visit  us  with  misfortunes, 
which  we  must  bear  as  best  we  can.  Let  this 
home  be  thine  and  I  will  trust  this  babe  of  mine 
to  thee,  that  thou  mayst  rear  him.  We  had  no 
hope  of  his  living  when  he  was  born,  but  the 
gods  had  pity  on  me  and  let  him  live.  For 
this  reason  he  is  much  dearer  to  me.  Care  for 
him  most  lovingly  and  I  will  give  thee  a  fitting 
reward." 

"  My  greeting  I  give  to  thee,  too,  dear  lady," 
answered  Demeter.  "  May  the  gods  give  thee 
all  thy  desires.  I  will  tend  thy  child  with  affec- 
tion as  if  he  were  my  own." 

Demeter  made  herself  at  home  in  the  large 
hall  of  Keleos  and  undertook  the  bringing  up 
of  the  boy.  She  gave  him  no  other  food  but 
ambrosia,  that  he  might  never  grow  feeble 
with  old  age.  The  child  throve  wonderfully 
and  was  a  joy  to  everybody.  The  father  and 
mother  were  astonished  at  his  rapid  growth 
and  handsome  face. 


no       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

But  one  night  Metaneira  wished  to  see  how 
her  son  was  getting  along,  and,  going  into  the 
room  where  Demeter  was  tending  him,  saw  a 
strange  sight,  for  the  supposed  old  woman  held 
him  over  a  fire  like  a  brand.  Metaneira,  ter- 
ribly frightened,  cried  out,  "  Oh,  my  child,  the 
stranger  is  burning  thee  !  " 

But  the  goddess  grew  angry,  took  the  child 
out  of  the  fire,  and  setting  it  down  on  the 
ground,  made  reply  :  "  Surely  mortals  are  blind 
and  incapable  of  telling  good  from  evil.  I  vow 
to  thee  by  the  waters  of  the  Styx  that  I  have 
rendered  thy  beloved  son  immortal.  I  put  him 
on  the  fire  that  it  should  render  his  mortal  flesh 
impervious  to  the  ills  of  men.  For  thee  it  is  an 
eternal  honor  that  I  have  lived  in  thy  house 
and  let  thee  sit  in  my  presence." 

At  that  instant  Demeter  threw  off  her  dis- 
guise as  an  old  woman  and  appeared  in  all  her 
glory  as  a  goddess.  Her  face  shone  like  the 
sun,  and  a  heavenly  odor  was  shed  from  her 
robe,  and  her  golden  hair  glittered  as  it  fell 
over  her  shoulders. 

"  Know  that  I  am  the  goddess  Demeter,"  she 
said,  "  who  am  honored  by  mortals  and  im- 
mortals. Thou  shalt  hasten  to  bid  the  whole 
populace  of  Eleusis  to  build  me  a  great  temple 
above  the  spring  on  the  mountain." 


Demeter  s  Joy  1 1 1 

Metaneira  was  speechless  with  astonishment 
at  what  she  had  heard  and  seen.  She  began  to 
tremble  and  did  not  even  take  heed  of  her 
child,  who  sat  on  the  floor  looking  at  them  with 
wonder.  She  went  at  once  to  her  husband  and 
told  him  all  that  had  happened.  King  Keleos 
called  his  people  together  in  a  general  assembly 
and  ordered  a  beautiful  temple  to  be  built  on 
the  acropolis  in  honor  of  Demeter. 

The  people  loved  their  king  and  believed  his 
words,  and  they  went  to  work  at  once  to  build 
the  temple.  They  set  about  it  with  such  zeal 
that  it  was  finished  in  one  day,  for  the  goddess 
gave  them  divine  strength  and  directed  the 
work.  Demeter  took  up  her  abode  in  the 
temple  and  remained  away  from  the  other  gods, 
still  mourning  over  the  loss  of  her  daughter. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

DEMETER'S  JOY 

PERSEPHONE  did  not  return,  and  the  angry 
goddess  grew  more  angry.  She  determined  to 
punish  the  gods,  even  though  it  brought  suffer- 
ing to  mankind.  Indeed  there  was  no  other 
way  to  punish  them.  So  she  forbade  the  earth 
to  bring  forth  any  more  fruit,  and  there  was  a 


ii2        Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

great  famine.  In  vain  did  the  oxen  pull  the 
plough  through  the  field.  In  vain  did  the 
farmer  sow  the  grain.  The  land  was  covered 
with  stubble.  No  flower  sprang  up  on  the 
parched  earth  ;  the  starving  people  had  no  sac- 
rifice to  offer  to  the  gods,  and  their  altars  were 
left  without  the  incense  arising  from  sacred 
offerings. 

Now  the  gods  loved  the  praises  of  men,  and 
the  incense  from  their  altars  was  most  precious 
to  them.  They  complained  to  Zeus  because 
they  were  deprived  of  their  incense,  and  Zeus 
saw  the  cause  of  it.  He  sent  the  rainbow- 
winged  Iris  to  call  Demeter  back  to  Mount 
Olympos. 

The  beautiful  messenger  flew  like  a  sunbeam 
through  the  space  between  heaven  and  earth, 
and  soon  reached  Eleusis.  She  found  Demeter 
in  her  temple  and  said  to  her,  "  Dear  Mother,  I 
bring  a  message  to  thee  from  the  great  god 
Zeus.  He  commands  thee  to  return  to  the 
abode  of  the  immortal  gods,  and  his  command 
no  one  dares  to  disobey." 

But  Demeter  received  the  command  with 
scorn,  so  Zeus  sent  all  the  gods,  one  after  an- 
other, to  entreat  her  to  return,  and  he  sent 
promises  of  beautiful  gifts  and  courtly  honors, 
but  Demeter  remained  unmoved.  "  The  earth 


Demeters  Joy  1 1 3 

shall  yield  no  fruits,"  she  said,  "  nor  will  I  re- 
turn to  the  company  of  the  gods  until  I  behold 
with  mine  own  eyes  my  beautiful  daughter." 

Then  Zeus  sent  Hermes  to  Hades  to  per- 
suade him  with  sweet  words  to  give  up  his  wife 
and  send  her  back  to  her  mother  since  Deme- 
ter's  anger  could  not  be  appeased  without  her. 
Hermes  went  down  to  the  under-world  to  the 
King  of  the  Dead,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Immortal 
Hades,  father  Zeus  has  charged  me  to  take  thy 
wife  from  this  dark  realm  back  to  the  light  of 
day  that  her  mother  may  see  her,  for  the  anger 
of  the  goddess  cannot  be  appeased.  In  her 
wrath  she  is  starving  men  and  depriving  the 
gods  of  the  honors  that  mortals  bestow  on 
them.  She  hath  left  the  home  of  the  gods  and 
will  not  abide  with  them.  Neither  will  she 
speak  to  them,  but  lives  alone  in  her  temple  at 
Eleusis." 

The  grim  king  smiled  and  said  to  his  wife, 
"  Persephone,  my  queen,  go  to  thy  blue-robed 
mother  and  appease  her  wrath.  The  winter  is 
over  and  thou  must  see  the  light  of  the  sun. 
But  first  thou  shalt  eat  with  me  of  the  pome- 
granate, the  apple  of  love,  for  thou  dost  love 
me  and  this  shall  keep  thee  in  remembrance  of 
me." 

Then  Persephone  took  from   the   king  the 


1 14       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

pomegranate  and  ate  it,  for  the  grim  Hades  had 
made  her  truly  a  queen  and  had  done  honors  to 
her.  But  she  was  glad  to  return  to  her  mother 
and  the  blessed  light  of  the  day.  She  mounted 
the  chariot.  Hermes  took  the  reins  and  the 
whip,  and  the  horses  flew  over  the  stony  road 
that  led  from  Hades.  On  and  on  they  went 
until  they  reached  the  Eleusinian  plains  and  the 
temple  of  Demeter. 

There  they  emerged  from  the  cave  close  to 
the  temple,  and  a  fig-tree  burst  into  budding  as 
they  came.  Demeter  stood  with  outstretched 
arms  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  to  receive  her 
daughter.  Hermes  helped  her  from  the  chariot 
and  Persephone  sprang  into  her  mother's  arms 
as  the  flowers  of  May  spring  forth  on  the  bosom 
of  earth  with  the  early  showers. 

No  one  can  describe  Demeter's  joy  as  she 
beheld  once  more  her  beloved  child,  and  pressed 
her  to  her  heart,  covering  her  with  kisses.  The 
whole  earth  smiled  and  burst  into  verdant 
growth.  The  fields  were  covered  with  grain. 
The  meadows  bloomed  with  gay  flowers.  The 
birds  sang  and  the  people  rejoiced. 

Demeter  drew  her  daughter  into  the  holiest 
sanctuary  of  her  great  temple  and  they  talked 
over  all  that  had  happened  during  Persephone's 
long  absence.  She  told  her  mother  how  Hades 


THE    RETURN    OF    PERSEPHONE. 
(Lord  Leightun.) 


Demeter  s  Joy  115 

had  stolen  her  away  from  the  meadows  while 
she  gathered  flowers,  and  how  he  had  treated 
her  while  she  stayed  with  him  in  the  lower 
world.  She  had  only  words  of  love  and  honor 
for  the  dread  King  of  the  Dead. 

A  whole  day  mother  and  daughter  passed 
in  an  affectionate  embrace  and  in  exchanging 
words  of  love,  each  pitying  the  other  on  account 
of  the  long  separation.  Then  Zeus  sent  Rhea 
to  bring  Demeter  and  Persephone  to  Mount 
Olympos.  And  he  told  them  that  Persephone 
might  remain  with  her  mother  until  the  winter 
months  came  back  again. 

To  this  Demeter  seriously  objected,  for  she 
dreaded  the  separation  and  the  loneliness.  But 
Zeus  replied :  "  If  thy  daughter  hath  eaten  of 
the  pomegranate  she  is  truly  wedded  to  Hades 
the  King  of  the  Dead,  and  must  go  back  to  him 
to  stay  during  the  winter.  For  the  pomegranate 
is  the  apple  of  love,  and  having  shared  it  with 
him,  he  hath  part  in  her  affection  and  can  claim 
her  as  his  wife.  But  if  she  hath  not  eaten  of 
the  fruit  she  shall  remain  with  thee  and  go  no 
more  to  the  gloomy  realms  below." 

Demeter  was  satisfied  with  these  terms  and 
promised  that  Persephone  should  return  to  her 
honored  husband  during  the  winter  months,  for 
Persephone  had  told  her  that  she  had  eaten 


1 1 6       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

with  him  of  the  pomegranate  and  that  she  loved 
him  in  spite  of  his  gloomy  surroundings.  Then 
Demeter  forgave  Zeus  for  his  part  in  allowing 
the  abduction  of  Persephone,  and  the  mother 
and  daughter  descended  once  more  to  Eleusis 
to  bestow  blessings  upon  the  inhabitants,  and 
from  that  time  on  the  earth  was  clad  in  flowers 
and  foliage  as  long  as  Persephone  stayed  with 
her  mother.  But  it  was  brown  and  barren 
when  she  returned  to  the  regions  of  the  Dead. 
And  the  good  Hades  warmed  the  earth  from 
below  by  virtue  of  his  divine  power,  helping 
it  to  produce  more  abundantly  the  precious 
grains  and  the  fragrant  flowers. 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

TRIPTOLEMOS    BECOMES    A    HERO.       DEMETER'S 
GIFT 

DEMETER  returned  to  her  home  among  the 
gods  on  Mount  Olympos.  But  before  she  went 
she  called  Triptolemos,  an  older  son  of  King 
Keleos  to  her  and  gave  him  her  car  which  was 
drawn  by  winged  dragons.  There  is  nothing 
more  precious  to  the  gods  than  open,  benevo- 
lent hearts  arid  generous  hospitality.  The 
poorest  and  meanest  man  may  be  god-like  in 


Triptolemos  Becomes  a  Hero        1 1 7 

generosity,  sharing  his  goods  with  open  hand, 
as  sunshine  is  poured  out  from  the  heavens. 
King  Keleos  had  shown  himself  a  most  royal- 
hearted  man  in  his  princely  generosity  toward 
the  goddess  when  she  came  in  the  guise  of  a 
poor  old  woman,  and  Demeter  resolved  to  be- 
stow upon  him  and  upon  mankind,  for  his  sake, 
a  blessing  proportionate  to  her  power  and  rank. 

So  she  gave  to  Triptolemos  something  far 
better  than  her  magic  car  and  serpent-steeds. 
She  taught  him  how  to  make  the  plough  of 
iron.  Heretofore  men  had  ploughed  the  fields 
with  the  crudest  of  ploughs — a  pointed  stick, 
or  an  iron  bar.  She  taught  him  how  to  turn  a 
furrow  and  put  the  seed  into  it,  and  cover  it  up 
so  that  the  birds  should  not  eat  it. 

And  when  summer  came  she  showed  him  how 
to  cut  the  grain,  to  bring  it  in  wagons  to  the 
barn  where  he  was  to  thrash  it,  and  to  store  it 
away,  keeping  each  kind  separate. 

Triptolemos,  being  carried  on  his  wagon 
through  the  air,  sowed  the  precious  grain  all 
over  the  inhabited  world  and  turned  many  a 
barren  waste  into  a  cultivated  field.  He  taught 
the  people  everywhere,  as  Demeter  had  taught 
him,  how  to  cultivate  the  soil.  Thus  he  be- 
came a  great  benefactor  to  all  mankind  and  in- 
duced a  better  way  of  living.  For  when  people 


n8       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

had  farms  to  take  care  of,  they  ceased  to  roam 
aimlessly  about  the  world.  They  built  homes 
and  learned  to  be  friendly,  and  from  this  sprang 
up  the  government  which  should  protect  the 
home  and  make  men  happy  and  comfortable. 

Triptolemos  received  the  honors  of  a  god, 
and  the  people  of  Eleusis  built  a  temple  to  him 
close  to  the  acropolis,  where  some  of  the  stones 
of  the  temple  may  still  be  seen.  But  his  best 
monument  is  the  cultivated  fields  of  barley, 
rye,  and  oats,  and  all  the  grains  which  from 
Demeter  (Ceres)  we  call  cereals. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

PROMETHEUS,  THE  CHAMPION  OF  MANKIND 

HEAVEN  and  earth  were  created.  The  sea 
rolled  its  waves  against  the  shore  and  played 
around  the  islands.  The  fishes  sported  in  the 
waters  in  lively  gambols.  On  the  land  the 
birds  flew  from  tree  to  tree  singing  with  sweet- 
est voices ;  wild  beasts  were  peaceable  ;  flowers 
threw  out  delicious  odors ;  nature  beamed  with 
loveliness. 

But  mankind  could  not  notice  the  beauty  of 
nature.  Men  walked  as  in  a  dream,  for  they 
were  not  awakened  to  delicate  odors  or  sweet 


Prometheus,   Champion  of  Mankind  1 1 9 

sounds  or  beautiful  forms  and  colors.  They 
were  barbarous  and  rude ;  they  did  not  know 
any  of  the  arts  of  civilization ;  they  were  not 
even  able  to  build  homes  ;  they  lived  in  caves 
like  wild  beasts  and  fed  on  nuts  and  fruit. 

The  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  unknown. 
Men  made  no  difference  between  the  blooming 
spring  and  fruitful  summer  and  the  cold  winter. 
They  did  not  know  how  to  cut  stone.  Like  the 
wild  creatures  they  lived  in  constant  fear, 
crawling  about  miserably. 

Prometheus,  the  son  of  Japetos,  was  wise  and 
good.  He  looked  down  from  his  comfortable 
abode  and  saw  with  pity  how  man  was  stupe- 
fied and  enthralled  by  ignorance,  and  he  wished 
to  deliver  him  from  his  unhappy  state.  At 
that  time  Zeus  reigned  in  the  heavens ;  he  was 
the  lord  of  thunder  and  of  fire.  He  stored  the 
fire  in  the  heavens  and  sent  it  down  to  earth  in 
the  form  of  lightning  to  terrify  men  but  not  to 
help  them. 

Without  fire  upon  earth  man's  condition  was 
hopeless.  He  needed  it  for  making  tools,  if 
ever  he  learned  to  forge  metals,  for  baking  clay 
with  which  to  make  bricks  and  dishes,  for  cook- 
ing his  food,  and  protecting  himself  from  the 
biting  frosts  of  winter.  But  Zeus  does  not 
willingly  part  with  his  treasures,  and  he  looked 


I2O       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

upon  fire  as  property  solely  his  own.  No  one 
could  get  it  from  him  by  open  means,  and  man 
had  not  even  dreamed  that  he  needed  it. 

Prometheus  made  it  a  part  of  his  own  duty 
to  teach  man  the  use  of  fire  and  how  to  live 
better  by  knowing  its  secrets.  So  he  went  to 
Olympos,  the  home  of  Zeus  himself,  and  took  a 
few  sparks  of  the  heavenly  fire,  which  he  hid  in 
a  hollow  reed  so  that  it  could  not  go  out.  He 
came  down  to  earth,  bringing  it  to  men,  and 
they  made  a  great  blaze  and  gave  thanks  to 
Prometheus  from  the  depths  of  their  hearts 
when  they  saw  what  it  would  do. 

When  it  grew  cold  they  sat  around  the  big 
fire  and  warmed  themselves.  They  began  to 
cook  their  food,  they  melted  iron  and  made 
spears  and  tools.  They  baked  clay  which  they 
had  moulded  into  dishes,  and  it  led  on  to  their 
inventing  all  those  things  that  are  made  by  the 
use  of  fire. 

When  Zeus  looked  down  from  the  heavens 
and  saw  the  light  of  the  flames  on  the  earth  he 
at  once  became  aware  that  Prometheus  had 
stolen  the  fire  from  him  and  given  it  to  mortals. 
Zeus  was  greatly  alarmed  to  find  his  power 
shared  by  men,  for  the  lightning  had  been  his 
sceptre.  He  called  Hephasstos  to  his  aid,  the 
Blacksmith  of  the  Gods,  and  his  powerful  ser- 


Prometheus,   Champion  of  Mankind  \  2 1 

vants,  Violence  and  Force,  and  bade  them  lead 
Prometheus  far  away  and  chain  him  to  a  lofty 
peak  in  the  Caucasus,  a  wild  mountain-range  of 
Scythia. 

Hephaestos  loved  Prometheus,  but  he  could 
not  disobey  the  command  of  Zeus.  When 
they  reached  the  Caucasus,  Violence  said  to 
Hephasstos :  "  See !  we  have  reached  far  off 
Scythia,  a  desert  where  no  trace  of  man  is  ever 
found.  Behold  the  Caucasus  !  Now  is  the  time 
to  perform  the  task  with  which  thy  father  Zeus 
hath  charged  thee.  Let  us  chain  Prometheus 
to  the  highest  rock  with  fetters  which  cannot 
be  broken.  Thus  may  he  learn  the  will  of  Zeus 
and  that  he  is  subject  to  his  rule.  Thus,  too, 
will  he  see  where  his  love  for  wretched  men 
has  brought  him." 

But  Hephaestos  answered  :  "  Force  and  Vio- 
lence, do  ye  execute  the  order  of  Zeus,  for  I 
have  not  the  heart  to  fetter  a  god  who  is  of  my 
own  kin,  to  this  wild  mountain.  It  must  be 
done,  because  it  is  the  will  of  Zeus,  and  it  is  a 
dangerous  thing  to  disobey  him." 

Then,  turning  to  Prometheus,  he  said : 
"  High-minded  son  of  Heaven,  it  is  with  a  sor- 
rowful heart  and  against  my  will  that  I  let  my 
servants  bind  thee  with  never-breaking  bonds 
to  this  rock.  There  thou  wilt  never  hear  a 


122       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

human  voice  nor  see  a  human  form.  Here 
wilt  thou  stay  with  no  power  to  stir,  and  the 
burning  sun  will  scorch  thee.  There  is  no 
place  where  thou  canst  rest  thy  weary  limbs 
or  thy  sleepless  head.  This  is  thy  reward  for 
thy  love  to  mankind.  But  I  would  rather  bear 
thy  punishment  than  be  the  tyrant  to  treat  thee 
so  unjustly." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

PROMETHEUS   UNBOUND 

PROMETHEUS  was  securely  bound  with  iron 
fetters  and  fastened  to  the  solid  rock.  The 
servants  of  Hephaestos  increased  his  tortures 
with  their  bitter  speeches.  But  Prometheus 
bore  his  sufferings  and  their  taunts  with  heroic 
indifference  and  courage.  As  long  as  they 
were  near  not  a  sound  came  from  his  lips. 
Only  when  Hephaestos  and  his  servants  were 
gone  did  he  begin  to  bewail  his  unjust  punish- 
ment. 

The  winds  carried  the  sound  of  his  moans 
far  off  to  the  shore  of  the  sea.  The  sea  maid- 
ens, daughters  of  old  Ocean,  heard  them  and 
were  moved  to  tearful  pity.  They  hastened  on 
the  wings  of  the  salt  breeze  like  a  swarm  of 


Prometheus   Unbound  Oi23 

birds  to  comfort  and  cheer  him.  Nay,  more, 
old  Ocean  himself  came  from  afar,  and  rising 
up  from  his  watery  abode,  stationed  himself 
near  Prometheus  to  speak  to  him. 

"  I  am  grieved  to  the  heart,  dear  Prome- 
theus," he  said,  "  for  all  that  thou  hast  to  suffer. 
I  am  thy  kin,  and  it  breaks  my  heart  to  see  thee 
like  this.  Even  apart  from  our  kinship  there 
is  no  one  whom  I  honor  as  much  as  thee.  Tell 
me,  is  there  any  way  in  which  I  can  help  thee  ?" 

Prometheus,  hearing  what  Okeanos  said, 
made  reply:  "What  do  my  eyes  behold,  friend 
Okeanos?  Hast  thou  come  to  see  me  in  my 
misery  ?  I  fear  me  I  have  only  bitter  words  in 
exchange  for  thy  kindly  greeting.  See  in 
what  manner  Zeus  treats  me,  his  friend,  who 
hath  assisted  him  to  gain  possession  of  the 
throne  of  the  world  !  " 

Okeanos  felt  the  truth  of  his  words,  but 
thought  it  better  to  try  to  persuade  Prome- 
theus to  submit  to  Zeus,  and  so  he  answered 
pleadingly  :  "  Curb  such  overbearing  speeches, 
dear  Prometheus,  and  I  will  myself  try  to  ap- 
pease the  anger  of  Zeus."  But  Prometheus 
quickly  replied :  "  I  have  done  no  evil  that  I 
know  of,  and  I  will  not  bow  to  tyranny  and  in- 
justice. 

"  My  fault  is  this :  I  loved  mankind  too  well 


124       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

to  let  them  lie  helpless  in  stupidity  and  igno- 
rance. I  found  them  in  a  pitiable  plight.  They 
had  eyes  but  could  not  see.  They  had  ears  but 
could  not  hear.  Not  one  thing  did  they  know 
until  I  taught  them.  I  told  them  to  observe 
the  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars.  I  taught  them  how  to  count,  and  write, 
and  remember. 

"  1  taught  them  to  yoke  oxen  to  their  ploughs 
instead  of  dragging  them  themselves.  And  I 
showed  them  how  to  harness  horses  to  the 
chariots  likewise.  I  helped  them  to  make  boats 
with  oars  for  the  rivers,  and  ships  winged  with 
white  sails  to  traverse  the  seas.  I  taught  them 
the  healing  power  of  plants  to  relieve  them  in 
their  sickness.  From  me  they  learned  how  to 
mine  for  silver  and  copper,  and  how  to  work 
them.  Indeed,  friend  Okeanos,  thou  mayst 
well  say  that  all  the  arts  men  know  how  to  ap- 
ply they  have  learned  from  Prometheus." 

Zeus  sat  uneasily  on  his  throne,  angry  when 
he  saw  that  the  spirit  of  Prometheus  was  un- 
broken. "  He  still  defies  me,  but  I  will  conquer 
yet,"  said  the  Thunderer;  and  he  sent  a  cruel 
vulture  to  tear  and  eat  his  vitals  every  day. 
At  night  they  grew  again  and  he  was  healed. 
But  each  morning  the  vulture  came  and  re- 
newed his  terrible  feast. 


Prometheus  Unbound  125 

Two  thousand  years  the  large  hearted,  man- 
loving  Prometheus  passed  in  suffering  in  the 
Caucasus.  At  length  Herakles  came  that  way 
in  his  wanderings,  when  he  was  trying  to  find 
his  way  to  the  Garden  of  the  Hesperides.  He 
broke  the  iron  bands  like  egg  shells  and  set 
Prometheus  free. 

To  tell  the  truth,  Prometheus  was  too  wise 
for  Zeus  to  have  him  as  an  enemy  forever,  for 
he  knew  one  thing  which  Zeus  did  not — he 
knew  the  future.  Zeus  was  aware  that  there 
were  many  important  secrets  concerning  the 
future  which  he  could  learn  from  no  one  else.  It 
is  supposed  that  Zeus  may  have  hoped  to  force 
Prometheus  to  yield  up  his  secrets  by  these 
punishments,  and  that  on  finding  out  his  mis- 
take he  slyly  connived  at  his  victim's  libera- 
tion because  he  could  not  afford  to  be  un- 
reconciled to  him  any  longer. 

Prometheus  has  been  loved  and  honored 
through  all  the  ages.  On  an  island  belonging 
to  Greece  the  people  built  an  altar  to  him  at 
the  foot  of  a  burning  mountain.  Once  a  year 
they  put  out  all  their  fires  and  sent  a  ship  to 
Delos  to  bring  a  fresh  light.  They  used  this 
new  flame  for  kindling  again  the  fires  they  had 
extinguished. 

At  Athens,  Prometheus  was  held  in  sacred 


126       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

honor.  People  held  torch  -  light  festivals  in 
memory  of  him.  And  on  frosty  nights,  as  they 
sat  by  the  fire,  they  praised  the  great  Prome- 
theus, who  could  endure  long  enough  to  con- 
quer destiny,  the  hero  who  had  brought  them 
mental  balance,  "  The  Gift  of  Equilibrium." 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

DEUKALION,  THE  CHAMPION  OF  A  NEW  RACE 

DEUKALION  was  the  son  of  Prometheus,  and 
a  just  and  god-fearing  man.  In  the  time  of  Deu- 
kalion,  Zeus  destroyed  the  human  race  by  means 
of  a  great  flood.  People  had  become  wicked  and 
godless;  they  did  not  fear  the  gods,  and  the 
meaner  classes  paid  no  respect  to  the  better,  and 
all  of  them  loved  every  manner  of  wickedness. 

This  state  of  affairs  reached  the  ears  of  Zeus. 
But  wishing  to  take  the  evidence  of  his  own 
eyes  and  see  if  the  stories  that  came  to  him 
were  really  true,  he  took  the  form  of  a  mortal 
man  and  went  down  from  his  Olympian  home 
to  the  Earth. 

One  evening  after  sunset  he  reached  Arcadia 
and  asked  for  a  night's  shelter  in  the  palace  of 
Lykaon,  the  king.  Lykaon  was  famous  for  his 
wickedness.  Some  of  the  people  seemed  to  see 


Dcukaliori,  Champion  of  New  Race    127 

some  signs  that  Zeus  was  a  god  and  went  down 
on  their  knees  to  him,  but  Lykaon  laughed  at 
their  credulity  and  said :  "  Stay  till  I  find  out 
whether  he  be  a  god  or  a  man ! " 

Lykaon  had  a  stranger  in  his  palace  who  had 
been  sent  to  him  as  a  messenger.  Lykaon  had 
the  stranger  killed  and  served  up  as  food  for 
his  guest.  When  the  dreadful  feast  was  placed 
before  Zeus,  he  arose  at  once  in  anger  and  left 
the  table,  and  he  shattered  the  house  with  a 
thunder-bolt.  Lykaon  betook  himself  to  flight 
with  all  speed.  He  fled  to  the  fields  howling 
like  a  wild  beast. 

Lykaon  tried  to  speak,  but  his  human  voice 
had  left  him.  His  skin  turned  into  a  wolf's 
pelt,  his  hands  into  paws.  He  rushed  furiously 
among  the  herds  and  began  to  tear  and  bite 
cattle  and  sheep.  He  had  been  changed  into  a 
wolf. 

Zeus,  having  seen  with  his  own  eyes  that 
things  were  even  worse  than  had  been  told  him, 
returned  to  Olympos.  He  called  the  gods  to- 
gether in  council  and  related  to  them  the  wicked 
deeds  he  had  seen.  He  ended  by  saying:  "The 
whole  race  of  man  must  surely  perish,"  and  the 
other  gods  consented  to  his  judgment. 

At  first  Zeus  thought  it  best  to  send  thunder- 
bolts to  destroy  the  evil  race,  but  he  feared  that 


128       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

the  flames  might  reach  from  earth  into  the 
heavens  and  burn  the  whole  firmament.  He 
therefore  laid  aside  his  thunder-bolts  and  re- 
solved to  drown  the  earth's  inhabitants  by 
means  of  a  flood.  So  he  ordered  the  God  of  the 
Winds  to  shut  Boreas  and  all  the  other  winds  in 
his  cave,  save  Notos,  only,  the  wet  south  wind, 
who  was  to  go  free. 

Then  Notos  flew  forth  with  his  damp  wings. 
A  thick  cloud  hid  his  face  like  a  veil  and  dark- 
ness hung  around  his  head.  Water  ran  down 
from  his  brow  and  his  hair.  Cloud-bursts  broke 
from  the  sky  and  sent  cataracts  of  water  over 
the  earth,  flooding  it  in  every  direction.  The 
work  of  the  farmers  was  stopped  and  their 
hopes  destroyed  in  an  instant. 

But  Zeus  was  not  satisfied  with  that.  He 
called  Poseidon,  Lord  of  the  Seas,  to  his  assist- 
ance. Poseidon  came  quickly.  He  spoke  to 
all  the  rivers  in  a  loud  commanding  voice. 
"  Leave  your  beds,"  he  cried,  "and  rush  wildly 
over  your  banks  and  flood  the  world!"  The 
rivers  obeyed,  and  Poseidon  himself  struck  the 
earth  with  his  trident.  The  earth  quaked  and, 
bursting  open  in  many  places,  let  forth  torrents 
of  water. 

The  waters  rose  higher  and  higher.  The 
valleys  became  one  wide  lake,  and  soon  the  tops 


Deukalion,  Champion  of  New  Race    1 29 

of  the  trees  were  no  longer  above  the  water. 
Man  and  herds  were  drowned.  The  altars  of 
the  gods  were  swept  away.  When  a  house 
remained  standing  it  was  soon  covered  with 
water.  The  highest  towers  disappeared  in  the 
flood.  Land  and  sea  were  no  longer  separated. 
The  world  was  all  sea — a  long,  shoreless  sea. 

Seals  gambolled  where  goats  had  formerly 
grazed.  Dolphins  swam  over  the  cities  that 
were  buried  beneath  the  waves.  Wolves  and 
sheep,  lions  and  tigers  huddled  close  together 
and  swam  about  as  long  as  they  could  keep 
afloat,  when  they  sank  below  the  waters.  The 
deer  could  no  longer  find  ground  for  his  fleet 
foot.  The  birds  flew  on  tired,  trembling  wings 
searching  for  a  place  on  which  to  perch  and 
finally  fell  into  the  sea  with  worn-out  wings. 

The  people  tried  to  save  themselves  in  any 
possible  way.  Some  fled  to  the  hills  and 
mountains.  Some  took  refuge  in  ships  and 
sailed  over  the  fields  where  formerly  the  plough 
had  moved.  By  and  by  the  mountain-tops 
were  swept  by  the  waves,  and  the  ships  were 
whirled  about  by  the  terrible  currents  and 
wrecked. 

Deukalion  and  his  wife,  Pyrrha,  were  the 
only  ones  to  be  saved.  He  had  taken  the  ad- 
vice of  his  father,  Prometheus,  to  build  himself 


130      Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

a  floating-house  in  the  form  of  a  box  and  to 
store  in  it  a  great  amount  of  food ;  when  the 
flood  came  he  entered  this  house  with  his  wife. 
The  house  was  carried  about  nine  days  and 
nine  nights  by  the  winds.  Only  the  two  peaks 
of  Parnassos  remained  above  water.  On  this 
mountain  the  floating-house  stuck  fast. 

When  Zeus  cast  his  eyes  down  to  earth  he 
saw  that  everything  was  covered  with  water, 
on  the  surface  of  which  floated  trees  and 
grasses  and  thousands  of  animals  and  people 
who  had  perished  in  the  flood.  And  he  saw 
Deukalion  and  his  wife  safely  anchored  on  the 
heights  of  Parnassos. 

Then  Zeus  gave  commands  to  Boreas  to 
chase  away  the  black  clouds.  The  sun  shone 
again  and  the  waters  retreated  from  the  earth, 
which  was  soon  dry  again.  Poseidon  laid 
aside  his  trident  and  the  rivers  ran  in  their  old 
channels.  Woods  sprang  up  and  the  fields 
bloomed  with  flowers. 

Deukalion  and  Pyrrha  looked  around  them. 
Everywhere  was  loneliness  and  silence.  It 
was  like  the  solitude  of  death.  Deukalion 
wept  and  said  to  his  beloved  Pyrrha :  "  My 
dear  wife,  I  do  not  see  a  living  soul  far  of  near 
in  any  direction.  Thou  art  my  only  compan- 
ion. All  the  friends  we  have  known  have  per- 


Deukalion,  Champion  of  New  Race    1 3 1 

ished  in  the  flood.  We  are  the  only  inhabitants 
of  the  earth.  What  will  life  be  worth  to  us, 
since  we  must  live  alone  in  the  world  with  no 
fellow-men.  I  should  like  better  to  live  if  we 
had  other  people  whom  we  might  love  and  help 
and  with  whom  we  could  enjoy  ourselves.  But 
we  will  give  thanks  to  Zeus  for  saving  us." 

They  walked  along  a  little  way  and  came  to 
an  altar  of  the  Goddess  of  Justice.  There  they 
fell  on  their  knees  and  said  :  "  Oh,  divine  Jus- 
tice, tell  us  how  we  may  revive  the  human  race 
which  has  perished.  Oh,  help  us  and  restore 
our  lost  ones  to  us."  They  listened  for  the 
goddess  to  answer  and  soon  they  heard  a  soft 
voice  reply :  "  Veil  your  faces,  oh,  Deukalion 
and  Pyrrha.  Go  down  the  mountain,  and  as 
ye  go  throw  backward  over  your  shoulders 
the  bones  of  your  mother." 

Deukalion  and  his  wife  were  puzzled  at 
these  words  and  at  first  they  could  not  tell 
what  they  meant.  But  after  some  meditation 
Deukalion  said  :  "  My  dear  wife,  the  earth  is 
our  mother  and  her  bones  are  the  rocks.  As 
we  go  down  the  mountain  we  will  cast  behind 
us  the  stones  which  we  find  in  our  pathway." 

So  they  started  forth,  the  founders  of  a  new 
race,  throwing  the  stones  and  rocks  which 
they  met  over  their  shoulders  and  out  of  sight. 


132       Hcrakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

From  the  stones  which  they  cast  there  sprang 
up  living  men  and  women ;  the  stones  which 
Deukalion  threw  became  men  and  those  which 
Pyrrha  cast  became  women. 

Deukalion  and  Pyrrha  had  many  children. 
One  of  their  sons  was  called  Hellen.  Hellen's 
children  and  grandchildren  spread  over  Greece 
and  were  called  Hellenes,  and  they  gave  the 
name  Hellas  to  Greece. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

D^EDALOS,  A  HERO  OF  INVENTION 

D^EDALOS  was  a  native  of  Athens  and  de- 
scended from  one  of  the  most  ancient  kings  of 
Attica.  It  was  he  who  constructed  the  laby- 
rinth in  which  King  Minos  of  Crete  locked  up 
the  monster  Minotaur.  Dsedalos  was  the  great- 
est artist  of  his  time  and  was  master  of  many 
useful  crafts.  He  produced  wonderful  pieces 
of  work  in  a  great  many  places  of  the  world. 

His  statues  were  so  cleverly  made  that  they 
were  taken  for  living  beings.  It  was  thought 
that  they  could  see  and  walk  about.  For  while 
the  artists  before  him  sculptured  their  statues 
with  closed  eyes,  with  their  hands  crossed  over 
their  breasts,  and  their  feet  turned  sidewise, 


D&dalos,  a  Hero  of  Invention      133 

Daedalos  made  statues  with  open  eyes,  out- 
stretched arms,  and  feet  pointing  forward  into 
space. 

Dasdalos  had  Talos  for  a  disciple,  a  clever 
and  intelligent  youth,  who,  though  but  a  mere 
boy,  had  invented  several  tools  of  great  useful- 
ness. One  day,  finding  the  jaw-bone  of  a  snake 
he  began  to  cut  a  piece  of  wood  with  it.  It 
was  hardly  sharp  enough  to  answer  his  pur- 
pose, so  he  constructed  a  saw  of  iron  on  the 
same  plan. 

Dasdalos  was  so  jealous  of  the  boy  that  he 
pushed  him  off  from  the  Acropolis  and  the  lad 
died  of  the  injury.  When  Dasdalos  saw  what 
he  had  done  he  went  to  Talos,  but  found  him 
dead,  so  he  hurried  to  bury  him.  He  was  sur- 
prised in  the  act  and  brought  before  the  court 
which  met  on  the  hill  called  Areopagus.  He 
was  condemned  to  death  by  the  court,  and  in 
order  to  save  himself  he  fled  to  Crete. 

At  that  time  Minos  was  king  in  Crete.  He 
received  the  famous  artist  very  kindly  and 
held  him  in  great  honor.  There  Dasdalos  did 
many  fine  works  for  Minos  besides  the  fa- 
mous labyrinth  for  the  Minotaur. 

After  he  had  stayed  some  time  in  Crete  he 
wanted  to  go  away.  But  Minos  did  not  wish 
to  let  him  go,  and  when  Daedalos  concealed 


134       Herakles,  and^  Other  Heroes 

himself,  the  king  searched  for  him  everywhere 
and  gave  the  order  that  no  ship  should  take 
him  away  from  the  island. 

The  ingenious  Dsedalos  then  meditated  a 
plan  of  flight.  Suddenly  he  exclaimed,  "  Minos 
may  watch  the  sea  and  the  land,  but  he  cannot 
watch  the  air.  That  is  still  free.  I  will  make 
me  wings  and  fly  away." 

Daedalos  constructed  two  large  wings  and 
fastened  them  to  his  body  with  wax.  Moving 
them  with  his  arms  and  hands  he  was  able  to 
fly  like  a  bird.  He  made  another  pair  of  wings 
for  his  son  Ikaros,  fastened  them  to  the  boy's 
body  and  taught  him  how  to  move  them.  Then 
he  instructed  Ikaros  to  keep  close  to  him  and 
not  to  fly  too  high  lest  the  wax  should  be 
melted  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  nor  to  keep  too 
near  the  surface  of  the  sea,  as  he  might  dip  his 
wings  into  the  water  and  render  them  too 
heavy  for  flight. 

After  he  had  given  this  advice,  he  flew  up 
first  and  his  son  followed.  Away  they  went, 
cutting  through  the  air  like  two  eagles,  and  soon 
the  high  mountains  of  Crete  were  left  far  behind 
them.  Below  them  the  wide  sea  stretched  out 
its  great  expanse.  The  sailors  looked  up  from 
their  boats  and  wondered  what  these  strange 
beings  were. 


D/EDALOS   AND    IKAROS. 
(From  the  painting  by  Van  Uyck.) 


Dcedalos,  a  Hero  of  Invention      135 

They  flew  over  fields  where  farmers  were 
ploughing,  and  the  farmers  gazed  up  with 
astonishment.  But  Dasdalos  and  Ikaros  flew 
on  and  on,  heedless  of  all  that  was  going  on 
below.  The  fishermen  forgot  to  take  in  their 
fish  and  the  farmers  forgot  to  urge  their  oxen 
on  with  the  goad,  but  kept  gazing  into  the  sky 
until  the  flying  people  were  out  of  sight. 

At  first  Ikaros  kept  close  in  the  wake  of  his 
father,  but  when  his  confidence  grew  stronger 
he  rose  up  higher.  He  forgot  his  father's  ad- 
vice and  flew  very  high  into  the  air.  Up,  up 
to  the  sun  as  nearly  as  he  could  go.  The  wax 
melted.  The  wings  parted  and  fell  to  pieces, 
and  Ikaros  was  precipitated  like  a  stone  into 
the  sea. 

Daedalos  missed  the  boy  in  a  short  time  and 
turned  back  to  look  for  him.  He  could  not 
see  him  anywhere,  so  he  called :  "  Ikaros, 
Ikaros,  my  son,  where  art  thou  ?  "  But  Ikaros 
made  no  answer.  Daedalos  flew  about  in  great 
agony,  and  at  last  he  saw  the  wings  of  his  son 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  sea. 

Then  Dasdalos  knew  that  his  beloved  Ikaros 
was  drowned.  He  descended  to  an  island  and 
searched  the  cliffs,  and  at  length  he  found  the 
body  of  Ikaros,  which  the  waves  had  washed 
ashore.  With  tears  and  lamentations  Daedalos 


136       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

buried  his  only  son,  and  thus  was  he  punished 
for  the  death  of  his  disciple,  Talos.  And  the 
sea  in  which  Ikaros  was  drowned  was  called 
the  Icarian  Sea  from  that  time. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

PHAETHON,  A  HERO  OF  BAD  FORTUNE 

HELIOS,  the  god  of  the  Day,  had  a  famous 
son  whose  name  was  Phaethon.  Helios  drove 
the  chariot  of  the  Sun  through  the  heavens, 
and  Phaethon  played  by  the  sea-shore  where 
his  mother  lived.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Old 
Ocean  and  had  many  daughters  of  her  own. 
Phaethon  grew  to  be  a  youth  of  great  promise, 
but  he  had  one  fault,  an  excessive  conceit. 

When  he  had  grown  to  be  a  young  man  he 
left  his  mother's  home  and  went  to  his  father 
to  receive  the  more  manly  instructions  which 
belong  to  those  of  heavenly  descent.  When 
he  reached  the  wonderful  palace  of  Helios, 
which  was  built  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  he 
sat  down  and  rested  near  the  glittering  col- 
umns, his  self-pride  growing  with  the  thought 
of  being  one  of  the  heirs  to  such  an  estate. 

He  rose  and  entered  the  silver  gates  which 
shone  like  mirrors.  He  found  Helios  in  the 


Phaethon,  a  Hero  of  Bad  For  time  137 

palace  surrounded  by  a  flood  of  light,  sitting 
on  a  throne  shaped  out  of  an  emerald.  To  the 
right  and  left  of  Helios  stood  Hemera  (the 
Day),  Men  (the  Month),  Etos  (the  Year),  the 
^Eones  (the  Seasons),  and  at  equal  distance 
from  one  another  the  Horae  (Hours),  and  Ages 
unnumbered.  There  also  stood  Spring  adorned 
by  a  wreath  of  flowers,  Summer  with  ears  of 
grain  in  his  hands,  Autumn  laden  with  juicy 
fruits,  and  Winter  with  his  white  hair. 

Phaethon  halted  in  awe.  But  Helios,  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  him,  welcomed  him  to 
his  palace.  He  took  the  crown  of  golden  rays 
from  his  own  head  lest  its  dazzling  splendor 
should  blind  the  eyes  of  Phaethon,  and  then 
called  him  to  come  nearer. 

Phaethon  approached  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling, but  Helios  called  him  his  son  and  re- 
assured him  with  endearing  words.  When 
Phaethon's  eyes  had  grown  somewhat  accus- 
tomed to  the  blinding  splendor,  Helios  said  to 
him  with  fatherly  love :  "  What  has  brought 
my  dear  child  into  the  heavenly  palace  of  his 
father?  Surely  this  is  hardly  the  place  for  any- 
one who  is  accustomed  to  the  cool  earth." 

Phaethon  answered :  "  Oh,  my  royal  father, 
I  am  very  unhappy.  I  am  the  subject  of  much 
gossip  and  derision.  People  taunt  me  because 


138       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

my  father  lives  in  the  heavens  and  does  not 
abide  in  our  home  on  earth.  They  say  that  I 
am  not  thy  son  at  all,  and  I  have  come  to  thee 
to  get  the  proof  from  thee  that  I  am  really  thy 
son." 

Now  if  Helios  had  lived  upon  earth  every- 
thing would  have  been  burned  up  in  the  light 
of  his  glittering  rays,  but  he  felt  sorry  for  his 
son  and  said :  "  Thou  art  my  dear  son,  indeed. 
I  would  gladly  leave  this  palace  to  come  and 
abide  in  thy  home  by  the  sea.  But  I  must 
drive  the  chariot  of  the  Day.  Even  the  gods 
are  not  exempt  from  duty." 

Then  said  Phaethon:  "  If  thou  art  indeed  my 
father,  thou  wilt  grant  me  the  boon  which  I  ask 
of  thee."  "  Ask  what  thou  wilt,"  replied  Helios, 
"and  I  swear  to  thee  by  the  waters  of  the  Styx, 
that  I  will  give  it  to  thee." 

Then  Phaethon  made  answer :  "  Let  me 
drive  thy  chariot  for  one  day  and  all  these 
people  who  despise  me  will  see  that  I  am  thy 
son." 

Helios  was  dismayed  when  he  heard  the  au- 
dacious and  unexpected  demand  of  his  son. 

"  What  words  hast  thou  spoken,  my  dear 
Phaethon !  "  he  said.  "  Thou  dost  ask  for  thine 
own  destruction.  Thou  dost  request  a  thing 
that  no  one  of  the  gods  would  dare  to  under- 


Phaethon,  a  Hero  of  Bad  Fortune  1 39 

take,  not  even  Zeus  himself.  No  one  but  my- 
self is  able  to  drive  my  chariot." 

But  Phaethon  would  not  be  persuaded. 
"  Thou  dost  not  love  me,  my  father,"  he  said 
with  tears.  "  I  see  that  thou  dost  not  love  me. 
If  thou  didst  thou  wouldst  let  me  have  thy 
chariot  in  order  that  the  whole  world  might 
see  that  I  am  indeed  thy  son." 

"Foolish  boy,"  responded  Helios,  "just  be- 
cause I  love  thee  shall  I  let  thee  destroy  thyself? 
Ask  any  other  boon  but  this." 

"  Nay,  I  want  the  chariot  and  nothing  else," 
replied  Phaethon. 

Helios  was  stricken  with  grief,  but  he  had 
bound  himself  by  the  Great  Oath  of  the  Gods, 
which  cannot  be  broken.  He  took  Phaethon 
by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  his  chariot  and 
placed  him  in  it. 

The  chariot  was  a  wonderful  piece  of  work- 
manship done  by  Hephasstos.  The  seat  and 
axle  were  made  of  gold.  Golden  also  were  the 
tires  of  the  wheels  and  the  spokes  were  of  silver. 

While  Phaethon  was  yet  gazing  with  wonder 
at  the  glittering  chariot  of  his  father,  the  rosy- 
fingered  Dawn  opened  the  dazzling  gates  of 
the  East,  the  stars,  one  after  another,  set — last 
of  all  the  Morning  Star,  and  the  light  of  the 
Moon  died  out. 


140       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

Helios  ordered  the  Hours  to  harness  up  his 
immortal  steeds,  which  were  always  fed  on 
nectar  and  ambrosia.  The  Hours  brought  the 
horses  up  from  the  stables  and  yoked  them 
to  the  chariot.  While  this  was  done  Helios 
anointed  the  face  of  his  son  with  heavenly  oil, 
lest  he  might  be  scorched  by  the  fiery  rays. 
Then  he  placed  his  radiant  crown  upon  Phae- 
thon's  head,  and  sighing  bitterly,  gave  his  son 
this  parting  advice : 

"  My  son,  do  not  touch  the  horses  with  the 
whip,  but  hold  on  to  the  reins  with  all  thy 
might.  The  horses  are  impetuous  and  thou 
wilt  find  it  hard  to  hold  them.  Keep  them  well 
in  hand  when  making  the  ascent  as  well  as  in 
the  descent.  First  thy  course  is  steeply  up- 
ward, and  on  the  other  side  it  descends  rapidly. 

"  Do  not  go  near  the  earth  lest  thou  burn  it, 
and  do  not  rise  too  high  or  thou  wilt  set  fire  to 
the  heavens.  The  twilight  is  waning.  Go, 
my  son,  for  mortals  are  looking  for  the  light  of 
Helios.  At  the  last  moment  I  pray  thee  to 
change  thy  mind  and  hand  the  reins  to  me." 

But  the  son,  exulting  with  joy,  gathered  up 
the  reins,  and  taking  leave  of  his  disconsolate 
father,  boldly  drove  off. 


The  Death  of  Phaethon  141 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII 

THE  DEATH  OF  PHAETHON 

THE  horses  darted  forward  to  their  long  race, 
and  their  first  few  leaps  brought  them  above 
the  highest  mountains.  Before  the  eyes  of  the 
youth  the  whole  extent  of  land  and  sea  lay  out- 
stretched. 

The  deer  already  had  left  their  shelters  and 
gone  up  on  the  heights.  All  nature  seemed  to 
awake.  The  quiet  woods  resounded  with  the 
songs  of  the  birds,  which  seemed  to  greet  the 
rising  sun.  Glittering  dewdrops  hung  on  the 
leaves  and  flowers  and  shone  like  diamonds 
with  the  light  of  Helios.  Hares  and  rabbits 
left  their  hiding-places  and  came  forth  for  food. 
Bees  flew  humming  from  flower  to  flower, 
gathering  their  precious  sweets.  The  shepherd 
led  forth  his  bleating  flocks  into  the  green 
pastures,  the  farmer  plodded  off  into  the  fields 
with  his  rural  tools.  Smoke  began  to  rise 
from  the  cottage  chimneys. 

Only  the  owls  and  other  night-birds,  unable 
to  bear  the  light  of  the  sun,  flew  back  to  their 
lonely  hiding-places,  and  a  few  timid  flowers 
closed  their  petals,  but  the  sun-flowers  turned 


142       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

their  faces  with  joy  toward  the  rising  sun. 
Phaethon  was  entranced  by  the  sight  of  the 
glorious  beauty  of  awakening  nature. 

The  horses  soon  perceived  that  they  were 
not  held  by  the  powerful  hands  of  Helios  ;  they 
also  felt  that  they  were  not  drawing  their  ac- 
customed burden,  and  as  a  ship  that  does  not 
carry  the  necessary  ballast  is  tossed  about  by 
the  waves,  so  the  chariot  was  jolted  through 
the  air,  rising  and  falling  as  if  it  were  empty. 

The  horses  strayed  from  their  path.  Phae- 
thon tried  to  rein  them  in.  He  did  not  know 
the  way  and  was  not  strong  enough  to  curb  the 
restive  steeds.  They  ran  this  way  and  that,  to 
right  and  left,  under  the  uncertain  guidance  of 
their  new  driver. 

On  they  flew.  They  were  near  the  middle  of 
the  sky  where  the  road  was  steepest.  Phae- 
thon looked  down  from  the  tremendous  height 
upon  the  earth.  He  became  dizzy ;  his  hands 
trembled  and  his  knees  knocked  together.  He 
let  the  reins  go  loose ;  the  horses  darted  for- 
ward like  arrows.  He  pulled  them  back,  and 
they  plunged  and  stood  on  their  hind  feet.  He 
wanted  to  speak  to  them,  but  he  did  not  know 
their  names. 

Overcome  at  last  by  fear,  he  threw  the  reins 
down  on  the  backs  of  the  horses  and  clung  to 


The  Death  of  Phaethon  143 

the  chariot.  Having  no  guidance  whatever  the 
horses  now  started  on  a  wild  race.  They  ap- 
proached the  earth  and  turned  everything  into 
a  desert ;  woods  and  meadows,  cities  and  vil- 
lages were  burnt  to  ashes.  The  rivers  were 
dried  up  and  the  sea  was  boiling. 

Again  the  chariot  was  borne  up  to  an  im- 
measurable height  and  the  earth  was  relieved 
of  the  terrible  heat.  But  now  the  firmament 
was  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  fire. 
Curses  and  prayers  rose  to  heaven  from  the 
suffering  people  on  earth,  and  cries  of  fright 
resounded  through  Olympos. 

Zeus  heard  the  sighs  and  wailings  and  cries, 
and  to  save  the  world  from  destruction  he 
hurled  his  thunder-bolt  at  the  unfortunate 
Phaethon,  who  fell  from  the  dizzy  heights  to 
earth.  With  tears  and  lamentations  his  mother 
searched  for  the  body  of  her  wayward  son. 
She  found  him  near  the  mouth  of  a  great  river 
which  had  been  burned  dry. 

There  she  buried  him,  and  the  sisters  of  the 
unfortunate  youth  shed  bitter  tears  over  his 
grave.  They  could  not  bear  to  go  away  from 
the  tomb  and  leave  him  lying  there  alone,  so 
they  remained  kneeling  and  motionless  until 
Zeus  took  pity  on  them  and  changed  them  into 
weeping  willows.  Even  then  they  kept  on 


144       Herakles,  and  Other  Heroes 

weeping,  but  their  tears  were  dried  by  the  sun 
and  carried  away  by  the  streams  into  the  great 
sea,  where  they  became  jewels  of  amber. 

Kyknos,  too,  a  friend  of  Phaethon's,  mourned 
his  loss  and  could  not  be  comforted ;  so  Zeus, 
in  kindness,  changed  him  into  a  swan.  Helios, 
in  his  fatherly  grief,  refused  to  drive  the  char- 
iot of  the  Sun  any  longer,  and  the  earth  was 
left  in  darkness  for  a  whole  day.  But  the  gods 
entreated  him  to  take  the  reins  again  and  men 
prayed  for  light,  and  from  that  time  on  the  Sun 
has  kept  its  true  course  through  the  heavens, 
under  his  wise  guidance. 


VOCABULARY 


Ad  me'  tos. 

y£  ge"  us. 

J£  thra  (e'  thra). 

A  kris'  i  os. 

Alk  me"  ne. 

An  tae  os  (an  te'  os). 

A  res  (a'  res). 

A  ri  ad'  ne. 

As  klep'  i  os,  or  Ms  cu  la1  pi  us. 

Ath'  a  mas. 

Au  gei  as,  or  Au  ge  as  (au  gi'  as, 

or  au  ge'  as). 
Boe  o'  ti  a. 
Ca'  cus,  or  Ka'  kos. 
Cer'  be  rus,  or  Ker'  be  ros. 
Da'  na  e  (da). 
Da'  na  ae. 

Da  na'  i  des,  or  Da'  na  ids. 
Da'  na  os. 
Dae'  da  los. 
De'  los. 
De  me'  ter. 
Deu  ka'  li  on. 
Di  o  me'  des. 
E  leu'  sis. 

Eu  rys  theus  (u  rys'  thuse). 
Glau'  ke. 
He'  ka  te. 
He'  li  os. 
He  phaes  tos    (he  fes'  tos),  or 

Vulcan. 


Her'  a  Ides  or  Her'  en  les. 

He  si  o  ne  (he  see'  o  ne). 

Hip  po  da  mei  a  (hip  po  da 

ml' a). 

Hip  pol'  y  te. 
Hy  met'  tos. 
Hy  per  bo  re'  ans. 
I  be'  ri  a. 

I'  ka  ros,  or  Ic'  a  rus. 
I  o  la  os  (e  o'  la  os). 
I  ol  kos  (e  ol'  kos) 
Jap  e  tos,  or  I  ap  e  tus  (yap'  e  tos, 

or  e  ap'  e  tus). 
Ke'  le  os. 

Ke  pheus  (ke"  fuse). 
Kre  u'  sa. 
Krom'  my  on. 
La  ri'  sa. 
Li  nos  (le"  nos). 
Lo  cri  (lo'  ere). 
Ly  ka'  on. 
Me  de  a  (me  de"  a). 
Me'  ga  ris. 

Me  le  a  gros  (me  le  ah'  gros). 
Met  a  nei  ra  (met  a  nl'  ra). 
My  ke'  nas,  or  My  ce"  nae. 
Myr'  til  os. 
Ne  me'  an. 
Ne  reus  (ne'  ruse). 
CE  no'  ma  os. 
O  ke'  a  nos. 


'45 


Vocabulary 


Or  pheus  (or'  fuse). 

Pe  leus  (pe'  luse). 

Pe  li  as  (pe'  li  as). 

Pe  lop'  i  des. 

Pe  lop  on  nes'  os,  or  Pe  lop  on- 

nes'  us. 

Per  i  phe'  tes  or  Kor  y  ne'  tes. 
Per  seph'  o  ne,  or  Pro  serp'  i  ne. 
Pha  e  thon  (fa'  e  thon). 
Phin'  e  as. 
Pit'  theus. 


Po  sei  don  (po  si'  don). 

Se'  ri  phos  (se). 

Stym  pha'  los. 

Sym  pie  ga'  des  (sym  pie  gali 

des). 
Ta'  los. 

The  seus  (the'  suse). 
Trip  tol  e  mos  (trip  tol'  a  mos). 
Tree  ze  ne  (tre  ze'  ne). 
Vale  of  Tern  pe  (tern'  pe). 
Zeus  (zuse). 


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